


Paper Planes

by mind_tardis



Category: Game Grumps, Grand Theft Auto V, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Achievement Hunter Heists, Child Neglect, Childhood Trauma, Fake AH Crew, FakeHaus, Female Character of Color, GTA!verse, Gangs, Girl Gang, Gun Violence, Hacking, Kidnapping, Mental Health Issues, Murder, Orphans, Police Brutality, Robbery, Steam Train (Game Grumps), Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-10-19 06:06:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 65,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10633827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mind_tardis/pseuds/mind_tardis
Summary: The race for money, power, and the ability to rule over the entire city is on. War threatens to break out when the most dangerous crews of Los Santos all pine for the help of the world's most dangerous computer terrorist.Who just so happens to be a 13 year old girl.





	1. She Strikes Again!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another one bites the dust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYOO!  
> Okay so I actually had this story posted months ago, but i deleted it for some reason and i can't remember why. classic me. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> Anyway I'm re-posting it, and i hope you guys enjoy it/get inspo for your own Fake AH stories.  
> And feel free to check out inspo i made for my dumb fanfic here [[x](http://mindtardis.tumblr.com/tagged/fahcps)] and dumb fan-trailers here [[x](https://youtu.be/0qnQkqWn8bE?list=PLdafDg36VBuKICEoRGrPIbkPVVRUOVBNZ)]  
> love you! xx

He was sweating up a storm in front of the cameras.

Hundreds upon hundreds of faces looked at him, asking him the same questions over and over, all of their voices getting lost in the raging headache that was forming in his brain. He couldn't stand how they looked at him—like wolves licking their chops at an animal that was on it's last leg.

And though he hated to admit it, he was very much indeed on his last leg. Financially, anyway.

He took a deep breath through his nose and looked down at the notecards placed in his hand.

“Ladies and Gentlemen...I regret to inform you that this is the end for the company,” He cleared his throat a little before continuing, not looking up once from his cards. “Due to an unforeseen crash in stock, we've had no choice but to, for the time being, shut down all our operations. Nothing much more can be said at this time, other than we _do_ believe that this was an outside attack. We will be conducting an investigation promptly and with full cooperation from the Los Santos Police Department.”

He gave a firm nod and stood away from the podium, the crowd of eager reporters shooting up in their seats. A sea of microphones and camera flashes and burning questions washed over him, the CEO electing to ignore them as he walked past.

“Do you think it was the Crew again?!”

“Do you think the foreign company was a fake created _by_ the Crew?!”

“Why put your company's assets into the hands of an unknown trustee?!”

“If this corporation exists, do you think they're working _with_ the Crew?!”

The crew. That's all anyone ever talked about nowadays. A crime is committed, and it's pointed directly at The Crew. Hearing their name so casually spoken like a common acquaintance made his insides burn.

What's more was that it wasn't even the already untouchable band of criminals that did this.

The evidence had pointed in another direction, and it wasn't their usual sick-minded, over-the-top crime that they so loved to pull.

It was a shame, too. He would have _loved t_ o have this piled upon their already large stack of sins.

But unfortunately, this sin was caused by someone else, the sinner lovingly leaving an e-mail in his inbox that very morning before his world crumbled around him.

 **HEY!  
** **THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE $$$ :D :D :D  
** **LUV U!**

**\-- R.E.**

* * *

 

_Imagine a city full of people ruthlessly pursuing wealth, fame and self-improvement, at any cost. Where everyone you met was either a celebrity, trying to be a celebrity, or used to be a celebrity. Where nature's bounty meant you could enjoy perfect weather all year round. Where the air was so good you could literally see and taste it?_

_Dare to dream, because that city exists._

_And that city belongs to six men in particular._

 

“EXTRA CHEESY PIZZA ON THE HOUSE!!!”

A slew of dirty-faced kids looked up from their game on the SNES and over to the unhinged door. A spindly girl came parading in with a stack of pizza boxes taller than she was. They smiled brightly and cheered in unison, getting up off the floor and running over to greet her. The scent of hot cheese and fresh bread and tomato sauce wafted through the run down apartment, masking the smell of wet dirt and molded wallpaper and bodies that haven't washed in weeks. Their cheers were loud and bright, overpowing the muffled groans from the junkie squatters and the police sirens that occasionally blared around the neighborhood.

This was no place for an ordinary child. Let alone a whole building full of them.

Homeless, parentless kids as young as five and as old as 19 lived in the run down apartment building infamously known as “The Shelter”, a haven for stray puppies to be picked up and taken away by the Los Santos PD. It was common knowledge among all slum dweller children to avoid the police, no matter what. A lot of them had been carefully avoiding them for years. Carlos, the oldest at 19, had been avoiding them since he was 9. He's highly looked up to by the younger kids, for it's not an easy feat to dodge the police like he did. Some get caught and taken away, never to be seen again as they're tossed into the System to be pimped out by rich adoption case workers. Some went down that path willingly, sick of scrounging for food and rolling around in dirt like a stray dog. Others fought it tooth and nail, swearing to God that they wouldn't ever get caught. That they would make it on their own terms.

And Elliott Maxwell Zepoppo Westerdahl the 3rd, was one of those people.

She stood at a whopping 5 foot 1 with warm brown skin, beanpoles for limbs, and a large mane of curly black hair badly dyed all sorts of colors at the tips. Carlos once described her as a little weird, kinda cat-like, but smart as all hell.

And everything she did for these kids in the building proved that, day in and day out.

“I can't believe you got pizza!” Bobby, the shortest in the slumdweller group chirped. Elliott nodded and set the stack down. 12 whole boxes of Pizza This's extra large, extra cheesy pizza. Her absolute favorite.

“I got a big one today,” She announced, opening up a box and pulling out a slice. She shoved half of it in her mouth and smiled,“1.6 million!”

The other kids looked at her in shock, their hands and mouths already stuffed with pizza as they dug in.

“Really?!” A little girl, Tamil asked, “What'd you do with it all?!”

The 13 year old shrugged her bony shoulders. “What else? I split it up. A little here, a little there...”

She picked up a box and strode over to the next room. An old wooden sign hung above the doorway reading ' **ELLIOTT'S LAIR.** '

“I'm gonna be working for a bit,” She announced, “Stay out of trouble, you guys!”

“Phee Pwbill!” They all answered through their stuffed mouths.

Elliott chuckled lightly and hummed as she opened the door and slid inside.

“I'm Hoooome!” She chirped, all the lights in the room flickering on to reveal her sanctuary. Wires ran everywhere on the floor like a spider's web, all connecting to one dinky beat up little macbook in the center of the room—one she lovingly named 'Egg' after finding it in a dumpster just outside of the Chicken Joint on the corner. She plopped down in front of her laptop and bid it good morning, shoving another slice of pizza in her mouth before getting to work. She licked her fingertips before slipping on her browsing goggles, typing away on her keyboard as her doll-like eyes flicked in every direction. She breezed through the sea of files, scanning through the list before finally finding what she was looking for.

The security camera from the 24/7 on Innocence Ave.

She smiled brightly as the numbers automatically logged in to the passcode bar and she pulled up the live feed, watching as the clerk checked out a random customer. She tapped on her keyboard and the camera moved over to the snacks. She zoomed in closely, humming to herself as she peered at everything the store had to offer.

“Let's see, let's seeee,” She sung to herself, “Reese's...snickers....potato chips...”

She hummed and hummed as she lazily looked around the store, watching as customers came in and out and bought what they needed. Her eye went over to the window on the right of her screen, a new set of digits popping up every time someone was too lazy to pay in cash and instead used their credit card.

And there were a lot of lazy people today. They would end up paying for that in the long run.

As Egg recorded the numbers, the young girl got straight to using them. As she scoured donation websites and online shopping stores for kid clothes, she heard the most peculiar noise coming from the shop. There was the familiar chime of the door opening up, and then there was a loud bang. The girl frowned.

“Huh?” She pulled up the feed to the store, watching as the clerk started acting really strange. He frantically got out a plastic bag and opened up the cash register, shoving all the money inside. She looked over and noticed two men across the counter holding large rifles in his direction. One of them was wearing a black and white suit, the other, a simple dress shirt and jeans with a pair of dark sunglasses. They didn't bother to hide their faces, their clothing alone giving away just who they were in a second.

And that's when her eyes went wide.

She was currently witnessing a robbery by members of the most dangerous crew in Los Santos.

“GIVE US THE FUCKING MONEY!” The suited one yelled.

“PUT THE MONEY IN THE BAG YOU SON OF A BITCH!” The other one shrieked. The clerk did as he was told, emptying out the register and tossing it over the counter. Right as he did so, his body suddenly flew back and red splattered across the cigarettes case. The one in sunglasses had fired a round into the guy's chest. Right as he went down, the Suited One picked the bag up and the two killers bolted out of the store. Elliot closed out of the live feed and went right to work, this time hacking into the traffic camera just outside the store. She watched as the doors to a black SUV slammed shut and the car started peeling out of there, speeding down the street as the cops started to show up.

Elliot's eyebrows raised, and a smile started stretching across her face.

She pulled up another command prompt and started typing, switching between the cameras that went along the street, catching up with them at the speed of sound. Her fingertips never left the keyboard as she tracked their movements. She went from camera to camera, watching as they swerved around traffic and ran over anything and anyone that got in their way.

A small chin suddenly rested on her shoulder. Roscoe, a 10 year old with shaggy red hair and a face peppered with freckles stared at the screen with wide eyes.

“Whoa, a car chase?!” He gushed out, other kids suddenly pooling in from the other room to watch the action on her computer screen. Elliot grinned widely and nodded.

“It's the Fake AH crew,” She explained, the other kids gushing and gasping in awe.

“Really?!” Tamil asked, watching as one of the crew members started firing at the cops from the passenger's side window. “It looks like they're in trouble.”

“Are you gonna help 'em, El?” Rosco asked. The girl smiled mischievously and got to typing, her goggles flickering as she dove right into the LSPD's database.

 

“ _This is Officer Sanders! We have the heist suspects in pursuit! Requesting backup, over!”_

A bullet suddenly smacked against the windshield, the two cops briefly ducking with a loud swear before sitting back up again. Thank god for bulletproof glass.

Sanders' knuckles were stark white as he gripped down hard on the steering wheel, the cop expertly dodging oncoming traffic and pedestrians as they followed the black Escalade in front of them. His partner in the passenger seat kept hanging out the side, firing his gun at the car's tires in an attempt to slow them down.

“ _10-4, Officer,”_ Dispatch announced over the radio, _"The suspects are boxed in on 37th--nd--street. Ke—ep on 35_ _th_ _, a 10-93—in—eption crew is—...”_

The officer frowned and briefly looked down at the map on his monitor. The image was starting to break and distort with static. He picked up his radio and pressed the the button on the side.

"Dispatch, repeat. Over.”

No answer. The image of the map continued to break up, and his partner continued to fire through the window.

“Dispatch, repeat! Over!”

Still no answer. They were nearing the blockade. He could see them from afar, a whole line of officers hidden behind their respective cars with their guns pointed forward. His partner fired his last round before retreating back into his seat, frantically trying to get the monitor to work.

“Dispatch, where are you boxing them in?!” Sanders yelled out, his heart racing a mile a minute. His partner kept fiddling with the screen, pounding a fist down on the monitor. “We don't have a visual! I repeat! We're running blind!”

His partner gave the screen one final hit before a giant smileyface appeared onscreen. The yellow cartoonish face grinned brightly at them, letting out a high pitched giggle.

“ _Hi there,”_ A strange, filtered voice suddenly chirped, _“I'm gonna need your car for a sec, Officers. 'xcuse me!”_

Suddenly the steering wheel jerked to the right. Then to the left. Then, the car sped up. The officers screamed as they veered into the left lane and barreled ahead past the suspects, and towards the line of police cars.

“What's happening?!” His partner screamed out, Sanders grabbing the radio once more for one final cry.

“Dispatch! WE NEED HELP! WE NEED HELP!!” He cried out into the radio, “HELP US!!!!”

The children watched from the traffic camera as the cop car smacked right into the blockade, the whole thing flipping over before landing right on it's back. They could hear the scream of policemen being crushed, and practically feel the shock wave as one of the cars suddenly exploded. The children's eyes all widened and they let out a wail of excitement as a black SUV suddenly barreled through the devastation. Two men hung out the sides of the car and started firing their automatic weapons at the cops that were still standing. The all fell over like dominos, the black vehicle flying through the scene without a scratch before disappearing behind a corner.

The children all cheered, balling their little fists and holding them up in the air in victory. The Crew had triumphed once again over the LSPD, and they all got to witness it first hand.

“That was _awesome_ Ellie!!” Tamil chirped, leaping forward and latching onto the 13 year old's back.

Roscoe nodded rapidly in agreement, the biggest grin appeared on his freckled face. “You were _amazing._ You helped them escape!”

The 13 year old looked over at them through her goggles and smiled, giving them a thumbs up before jumping slightly. Egg let out a warning sound, a familiar, fast-paced beep that made the children freeze in place.

The dog-catchers were here. Here yet again take away the strays.

Carlos came running in from the other room, his dark eyes wide and his voice in a harsh whisper. “LSPD! They're right outside!”

Elliot nodded lightly, her goggles flickering on as a snide grin stretched across her dirty face.

“You know what to do, guys.”

The kids all nodded and scattered like marbles across the floor. Each of them went a different direction—sliding down banisters in the apartment stairwells, clamoring up poles that lead through the floors. The kids howled and hollered in amusement, running around through the filth and devastation like it was a part of their playground. Roscoe and Tamil held on tight as they started going down the slidepole that went through the floors, other kids hopping on along the way. They all traveled down to the lower level, Carlos and the other teenaged Slumdwellers already there waiting for them.

* * *

Their movements were stealthy and quiet as they approached the beat up door. A lot of them took a much needed breath, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. This is what they trained for: taking out the enemy quickly and quietly.

And the person behind this door _was_ the enemy. They each had to remember that, despite her sweet smile in her profile photo, or the birthdate printed in the debreifing packet.

This was no ordinary Slumdweller. This was no ordinary child. This was a terrorist.

The officer on point held up the iPad, watching on screen through the eyes of the spy drone that had been hidden in the corner. They could see the back of the girl's head, her favorite toy airplane whizzing around above her. She used her own rigged up remote control to pilot it, making loud _nyurr_ noises as it dipped and hovered. She swerved and swayed with it, leaning hard to one side before toppling over as the door suddenly burst open. Several men in black started pooling inside, holding up their rifles and pointing them at the tiny girl in goggles much too big for her.

“LSPD!” An officer covered in body armor shouted, “Radical Elliot!! Get down on the ground, now! You're under arrest!”

The girl stared at them, her goggles flickering as a smile stretched across her face. She held up her makeshift remote, made of what appeared to be a pink Nintendo 3DS. She pressed the 'A' button once before dropping it into her lap. She watched as the data scrolled across her lenses, a series of numbers rotating through the LSPD's secure server before making a direct match. A smiley face appeared onscreen, and it made her smile wider.

“What the hell is wrong with this kid?” She heard one of the men mutter in uneasiness. Another officer stepped forward, pointing the barrel of his rifle right at her skull.

“Elliott, whatever you're planning, don't even think abou—”

“Too late!” She chirped out, picking up her DS again and pressing start. The police cars outside suddenly roared to life, and several of the officers ran to the window to check it out. The vehicles started backing up and peeled out of there one by one, all of their sirens blaring as they swerved and swayed down the street. While a large group broke off to try and get them back, the others remaining watched in horror as their cars started crashing into other cars and buildings. Some even barreled over pedestrians on the sidewalks, leaving bodies and skid marks of blood in their violent wake.

The girl used this chance to slip away quietly and run down the hall, her DS and her computer in tow.


	2. Welcome to Los Santos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The block is hot with cops on the search for Elliott. Meanwhile, Geoff tries to figure out why a certain aspect of the heist bothers him so much.

As police sirens blared through the streets of downtown Los Santos, one group of men stood above it all. They watched from the comfort of a lavish penthouse with large glass windows, covered with the most expensive modern minimalist decor.

There were six men in total. All of them with a very specific set of skills that kept the city and it's protectors on it's knees.

Jack Pattillo was ex-military. The Air-force to be exact. Tall and stocky with a full bushy beard and glasses, he didn't look at all like a criminal. He cleaned up nicely when he wasn't with the crew; often wearing a nice dress shirt and tie, along with an expensive watch. But when he was with the Fake AH Crew, he resorted to a much more casual teal Hawaiian shirt and white khaki shorts. The others always gave him hell for it, but none of them could deny that what he lacked in fashion sense, he made up for in criminal skill. He was the pro pilot and getaway driver, a man able to expertly lead a double life with his outwardly sweet-looking nature. His pretty Australian wife had no clue what he was up to during his business trips. The man swore if she did, she would leave him for sure.

Gavin Free was surveillance and recon. He had good black market connections, and could tell you anything you wanted to know about anybody. No one knows who his source of intel is exactly, but others in the crew have speculated that they're overseas in the UK somewhere, where Gavin was originally from. Although he's not the best shot in the world, he's been reliable and efficient, and that's all that mattered.

Michael Jones, ironically enough, was the explosives guy. He was generally very mellow around his crewmates, and liked to joke a lot and have fun, but it was universally known that he was a ticking time bomb. If you pissed him off, you pray that he does you in quick—because when Michael Jones got angry, he got fucking _angry._ What he lacked in patience though, he made up in skill by far.He was a good getaway driver, if you didn't mind the road rage that often got violent. He was a great gunner in a moving vehicle as well.

Ray Narvaez Jr. was probably the 2nd most mysterious member in the crew. And quite possibly the most dangerous. A pro sniper, quick shot, and recon, his skills were ranked number 1 in the entire country, having over 209 confirmed kills. He was the quietest one the group, usually staying silent for long periods of time without talking to anyone. When he did talk, it was usually in a small joke or a witty quip before he went silent again. His voice usually came out in one pitch, making him come off as bored, when really he was anything but. Although he looks relatively young, no one in the crew ever bothered to ask his age. His youth often came out as he occasionally referenced things like movies and casual memes on the internet.

The 1st most mysterious was most definitely James Ryan Haywood. Ryan was the muscle. He often did well, if not even better, whenever he was in a pinch. Rival gangs would say he's invincible—a man so vile, with fewer morals and limits than your average criminal, that Satan himself doesn't want him. That's why he's alive, they would say: because heaven couldn't handle him, and hell couldn't hold him. It was clear that he was unafraid to show just how deep his psychosis ran. He had a child-like humor about how he did his crimes; humming as he casually gunned down his rivals, laughing as he chucked sticky bombs towards police, or purposefully drawing smiley faces on things using the blood of his victims. It often left the rest of his group muttering “ _Jesus_ Ryan” more often than none.

And then, of course, there was Geoff Ramsey.

He was the Kingpin, the Crew leader famously known as 'Daddy' or 'Lazer' depending on who you asked. He was a man of good taste and he favored it as well, always sporting a well-tailored black and white suit and the most impressive gentleman's mustache. He was a man with many fingers in many pies, all without leaving any fingerprints. He was the one who ran everything in Los Santos with a mighty, tattoo covered fist. He could have whatever he wanted, opened whatever door that was closed to him. There was no such thing as a closed door now. They were all his. Nothing was a secret to him, he owned secrecy. Privacy was a myth to him and his men. They owned it all. The city he was looking at through the large glass window was his and his men's to rule and do with whatever they saw fit.

And Geoff Lazer Ramsey saw many, _many_ things to do.

He smiled lightly at the city as he stood behind the balcony door, nursing a whiskey glass half full of his usual on the rocks. Gavin and Michael were lazily sprawled across the couch watching TV while Jack sat at the glass table, counting the stacks from their most recent heist. Ray was sitting on the floor in the front of the couch, carefully inspecting his new sniper rifle while occasionally watching the TV screen. Ryan wasn't anywhere to be found. None of the crew seemed to mind. He did that a lot.

“Eleven thirty-five,” Jack announced as he set down the final stack, “Not bad for your basic stop n' go.”

“Except we gotta split that up among six guys,” Michael remarked, “We each get, what, two hundred dollars?”

“One eighty-nine,” Ray answered simply. Michael groaned loudly.

“I know we're rich and all, but can we at least _try_ and _stay_ fuckin' rich?”

“Yeah, my sunglasses alone cost me a good six grand,” Gavin piped up. Jack sighed and shook his head as he started splitting up the cash.

“Yeah, well, you two are the worst spenders in the crew, sooo,”

“Jack, you can't put a price tag on class,” Michael assured, shifting to look over at the window, “Right Geoff?”

The dark haired man kept his back towards his crew, his eyes still glued to the city. He mumbled a small 'mhm' before taking another sip of his drink. Gavin shifted and sat up straight, looking over at his boss.

“Somethin' wrong, Geoff?”

He didn't answer right away. The others were looking in his direction, concern falling over each of their faces. The suited man saw this through the reflection in the window. He turned around to face them.

“It's nothing,” He assured, taking another gulp before letting out a satisfied hiss, “It's just something the cops did today while we were escaping...”

An amused smile suddenly flashed across Michael's face. “You mean when they rammed into their own blockade like fucking idiots?”

Gavin let out a drawn out squeak that melded into laugh. “Oh god, that was mental! What even was that?!”

“It _was_ pretty weird,” Jack remarked, “What's bothering you about it?”

Geoff shook his head.

“It's just something I saw while I was in the car,” He said with a small shrug, “The look they had on their faces...”

* * *

It was like an automatic reaction.

You hear sirens, you run.

Elliott ran for her life, hopping over bums and trash bins, scaling fire escapes and chain-link fences. She wound around alleyways and cut through shops, she knew the slumdwellers would be amazed. Her movements were fluid like a routine, as if it had been an obstacle course she'd been on several times before. She knew what was up ahead and where to go.

“This way! This way!” She could hear an officer yell. She hopped up onto another fence and clamored over. She jumped down and scrambled across the ground before getting to her bare feet. Just as she made it to the other side, she bolted out of the alleyway and ran across the street, her eyes meeting a pair of bright lights as a car came barreling towards her. She let out a scream and jumped up, landing right on it's hood like a frightened cat as the car skidded to a stop. A loud, drawn out honk rang in the air. She let out a hiss at the driver and leaped off, making a break for the other side of the street as the driver's side door swung open.

Before she could make it, a loud, gruff voice stopped her.

“HEY!” The voice barked, “What the fuck are you doing, kid?!”

Elliott turned around, her hard expression softening as a man in a blue and black leather jacket came rushing out. He stood in front of his car with his arms out, his hair wild and his eyes caked in something black.

“You trying to get yourself killed?!” He yelled out, “I had half a mind to keep going! Run your ass over—”

The sirens were getting louder. They were close, real close. Elliott's eyes widened and she looked down at her profile on the DS.

Her wanted level had gone up to 2 stars.

“Uh oh,” She chirped, quickly turning around and rushing over to the car, “Time to go!”

She opened up the passenger's seat door and slid inside. The man in the leather jacket rushed over to the driver's side and looked at her from the street.

“Uh, excuse me?!” He called, “What the hell are you doi—”

His phone suddenly beeped in his pocket. He sighed and pulled it out, looking down at the text he'd just received. His eyes widened.

“Aw what the fuck?! 2 stars?!”

“We'd better go,” Elliott warned, her eyes glued to her DS as she started tapping away on the buttons.

“Get out of my car, then!” The man bit, looking down at his phone, “You gave me a damn wanted level. I'd just gotten rid of it...”

Her eyes flitted over to the map on the top screen. The police were just down the street. She turned around and stared out at the back of the street, flashing blue lights coming up over the hill only a block or so away. Her heart was starting to race a mile a minute, the thought of being caught and taken away from the Shelter plaguing her mind. She had to get out of here now!

“I'll get rid of it!” She let out over the man's complaining, “I promise! Please!! We have to go!”

The man looked to the right and saw the cops were getting closer. He rolled his eyes and let out a loud, frustrated noise before relenting, finally getting inside the car. He slammed the door shut and started revving the engine, Elliott slipping on her seat belt and getting cozy in the passenger's side. She started looking around, her eyebrows raising in pleasant surprise. This was a fancy car. _Really_ fancy.

She was about to compliment it too, but her voice quickly melded into a scream as the man slammed his foot down on the accelerator. They shot forward and sped down the street like a bullet.

  
The girl kept close watch on the map on her DS. Her wanted level was starting to dwindle down, the two stars on her profile starting to flash. Her eyes focused on the area higlighted blue on the map, watching as it started to slowly make it's way in the direction opposite to her.

The second she was in the clear, her wanted level turned off.

The man's phone suddenly went off again and he pulled it up to look at it. He let it fall into his lap with a sigh.

“All clear,” He huffed, sitting up straight and turning on the ignition, “Alright, now get the hell outta my car.”

Elliot looked at him with wide eyes. “W-what? Why?!”

“Because I said so!” He bit, “You gave me a wanted level!”

“B-But we got rid of it!” She let out, holding up her DS for him to see, “Please Mr—um...”

“Ryan,” He finished.

“Ryan! Please Mr. Ryan! I can't go back out there! Not yet!”

The man's hard expression started to fall as he saw tears well up in her big brown eyes. Her face twisted into an expression that made him lean away from her, the discomfort clear on his face as she started to sniffle and wipe her eyes.

“They'll take me away if they catch me...” She whimpered out, quickly rubbing her teary eyes on her bony arm. Ryan ran a hand through is hair and groaned in his throat, wincing as she started to quietly sniffle and cry in her seat.

“Look...Kid,” He reached out to touch her shoulder, but quickly retracted it, “C'mon...It's not that...”

No use. She still continued to cry, tears spilling down her cheeks and snot starting to run down her nose. He briefly let out a small noise of disgust before finally caving in, huffing as he drove the car forward and back out into the street.

“I don't have anywhere to be for a bit,” He announced, sighing a little as the girl's' crying finally ceased. “Tell you what, I'll get you something to eat, we'll drive around for a bit, and then I'll take you home. Sound good?”

He looked over at the kid as she wiped her eyes and sniffled, nodding lightly with a thankful smile on her face.

  
The barefoot girl chirped and danced in her seat when they pulled up to the Cluckin' Bell. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. She hadn't had chicken in forever, and now she was _super_ excited. Her previous episode had long since been forgotten, now that the promise of delicious, hot crispy chicken was only a few feet away.

“Oh man oh man oh man!” She squealed, quickly hopping out of the car and skipping across the parking lot, “I can't wait to eat chicken! I want a big bucket. A HUGE bucket!”

“You'll get a kids meal, and that's that,” Ryan demanded, reaching forward and opening up the front door for her. Elliott scurried under his arm and turned to give him a small bow. He rolled his eyes and stepped inside, shoving his hands into his coatpockets as the two of them approached the counter.

The young teen got up on her tippy toes and peered over the counter, looking up at a greasy faced teen with a pencil mustache and coke bottle glasses.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo, what do you want?” He asked, his big eyes glued to his computer screen. Ryan looked up at the menu.

“Uhhh...” He leaned over to the left, “There anything else you want, kid?”

“A big chicken bucket?” She asked with a big grin. He frowned at her, and she huffed a little. “Just a kid's meal,” She chirped at him with a pout.

The man stood back up again. “We'll have a chicken burger and a kids meal.”

The teen started typing it into the computer before stopping. “Do you want the Little Clucker meal or the Little Peckers meal?”

“Uh...What's the difference?”

“One's the Clucker meal and the other is the Little Peckers meal.”

Ryan furrowed. “Is there, like, a difference in meal? Or...?”

The worker sighed lightly and shrugged. “Look, man, can you just pick one?”

“I'm just asking what the difference is!”

“There isn't!”

“Well then why would you ask me if there wasn't a difference?!”

“Because I'm _supposed_ to fuckin' ask, man! Come on! I get off in 10 minutes!”

Elliot reached over and gently tugged the hem of Ryan's coat. He didn't budge. He just continued to glare and argue with the man behind the counter, his voice eerily calm as the teen continued to give him lip. The young teen huffed in frustration and folded her bony arms, tapping her foot as she waited for the men to give up their little debate and get to serving her food. It wasn't long before the argument started to escalate between them—In the sense that the teen started calling him foul names, and the man in the dark jacket started reaching into his pocket. The girl's eyes widened as he pulled out a gun and pointed it at the chest across from him. The teen behind the counter looked down at it for a good couple of seconds before his eyes went to the size of tennis balls. All the blood drained from his acne ridden face and he held up his hands in defense.

“You know, I _really_ _tried_ to be civil with you.” The man with the gun reasoned with a disappointed sigh. “So here's what's gonna happen in the next 2 and a half minutes: You're gonna give us our food, and everything that's in that piece of shit register of yours.”

The teen swallowed hard in his throat, beads of sweat starting to form on his blemished forehead. He didn't say a word, and the man with the gun started to frown.

“Is there a problem?”

Again, no answer. He fired off a shot into the lamp right above him, causing sparks to fly and everyone in the back to scream bloody murder. The teen employee hunched over briefly and screamed before standing up straight again. The man with the gun leaned forward, pressing the barrel of his weapon closer towards the rude employee's chest.

“I said, _is there a problem?!_ ”

“I-I can't, man!” The server cried out, “You have to buy something!! I can't open the register!”

A lightbulb suddenly went off over the 13 year old's head, and she smiled brightly. Without a word, Elliot quickly slipped her goggles on and switched on her DS, grinning as she started tapping away at the game on her screen. It wasn't long before she found the right code and the register opened right up. The man with the gun looked down at her briefly before looking back at the frantic teen behind the counter.

“Gimme the damn money,” He growled, the teen obliging right away and shoving all that they had into a takeout bag. He shakily handed it over before raising his hands high in the air, his face twisted in a ugly expression of desperation.

“P-Please, man,” He begged, “Don't kill me! I-I'm sorry! It's been a long day!”

“Now give us the food,” The criminal jeered, leaning to look past the teen and over to the horrified staff, “GIVE US OUR DAMN MEAL!”

“I-I NEED A CLUCKER MEAL, A LITTLE P-PECKER MEAL, AND A CHICKEN BURGER!” The teen yelled, the staff in the kitchens frantically getting to work in preparing the order. Their meal was ready in no time flat, and Elliott sung with delight as the frightened teen shoved the bag of food into her waiting arms. She danced in place with a cheery “Thank you!” before looking back over at her savior. The man still had the gun pointed to the worker's forehead. He wasn't moving a muscle.

“...Go, kid,” He said plainly. Elliot furrowed.

“Wha? But—”

“I said GO!” He barked out. The girl jumped a good foot before bolting forward, scurrying out of there like a startled rabbit.

It wasn't until she was a good couple of feet from the store that she heard gunshots. She didn't have time to turn back and see what happened. Sirens were starting to ring in the air, and that was her cue to get to hell out.

* * *

 “ _ **WEAZEL NEWS!”**_

“Devin Weston profits from congress's decision to allow Merryweather security to expand domestic operations.”

“ _Gang crime is on the rise._ ”

“Several prominent stockbrokers arrested for insider trading!”

“ **Gang shootout in Puerto Del Sol!!** ”

“Excitement is building for Lifeinvader's new product launch!”

“ _ **Car Carnage in Strawberry!**_ ”

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Michael yelped, sitting up straight as he turned up the TV's volume, “Guys! They're talking about the heist!”

Everyone turned their attention to the screen as a pretty brunette in a navy suit popped up.

“Shock and terror on the Del Perro freeway earlier as a set of brave cops pursued after a group of men believed to be notorious criminal gang the Fake AH Crew.” She announced heartily, “The two groups engaged in a high speed gun battle after a heist, believe to be carried out by the Crew, went underway at the 24/7. Weazel News team was there just minutes too late, as usual, but managed to catch the damage that the Crew had left in their wake.”

The camera panned over to a man on the street sweeping up a bunch of broken glass and a random side view mirror.

“Just as they approached the police blockade, witnesses report seeing The Crew firing repeatedly at the two brave officers, killing them and causing their car to spin out of control and land into the blockade. Witnesses further report seeing explosives fly from the crew's vehicle, creating a massive explosion leaving 6 dead officers, 5 civilian casualties, and several more injuries. More news at 9.”

“Aw, what?!” Jack let out.

“Are you fucking serious?!” Michael barked. Gavin threw a pillow cushion at the TV.

“We didn't even touch the damn car! That's bollocks!”

“They rammed into the blockade them-fucking-selves, those idiots!” Michael looked over to the others, tossing a hand towards the TV screen.“You all saw that, right?! It wasn't just me?!”

Gavin turned over to look at Geoff. He had a stern look on his face, his brows lowered into a frown. The man tilted his head at him.

“Boss, what you want us to do?”

“I say we glack that fuckin' news lady,” Michael mumbled bitterly as he folded his arms, “Bitch doesn't know what she's saying.”

“They were alive when they rammed that blockade,” Jack asserted, “I saw it with my own two eyes! There was no way in hell they died before that.”

“Yeah, so did I! They were fucking screaming their heads off when they sped ahead of us!!” Michael barked.

“But why?” Geoff murmured, folding his arms as he frowned. Gavin and the others turned to look at him.

“Wait...wot?”

“Why did they ram the blockade?” He repeated, looking back up at his crew.

“Because they're fucking idiots?” Michael answered. Geoff shook his head at him.

“You said it yourself, Michael. Those guys were screaming while speeding ahead of us. They were terrified.”

Jack frowned in thought for a second before looking over at his boss. “Soooo...What are you saying, exactly?”

The kingpin placed his hands on the edge of the table, dipping his head, “I'm saying...I think they lost control of the vehicle.”

Ray looked up from his current task and exchanged a hard frown with the other crew members.

“You think they lost control,” Michael quoted, scoffing as he tossed a hand towards the outside, “Well how'd they manage to drive pin fuckin' straight into the line of police cars, then?”

“Nobody here tampered with the brakes,” Jack remarked. Both Ray and Gavin agreed, making it known that they had nothing to do with it...This time, anyway. Geoff continued to sigh and shake his head before standing up, running his hands through his dark, wild hair in frustration.

“I need to see the police report,” He stated firmly, turning every which way to look around the apartment, “Where the hell is Ryan?”

The front door suddenly opened up, and a man in a familiar looking skull mask walked through. Geoff turned to face him as he kicked his shoes off and stalked over towards Jack.

“And where the hell were you?!” The boss bit. His eyes went down to the plastic bag in Ryan's hand. “And what the hell is that?!”

“My take from the Cluckin' Bell,” He answered lowly, tossing the grocery bag onto the table. Jack's eyes widened at the bloody fingerprints smeared all over the bag. Michael shifted and sat up in his seat, looking over at Ryan as he peeled off his mask and undid his ponytail. Shaggy, dirty blonde locks spilled out and rested at his shoulders. The area around his bright eyes were caked in coal black paint--all of it now smeared and slightly running from all the sweat he generated. That's what he got for wearing a mask in this heat.

The redhead's eyes quickly looked over at the bag and the cartoon chicken logo on the front. “You robbed a chicken joint?”

“ _Jesus_ Ryan,” Jack muttered as he opened up the bag. It looked like there was a pretty decent amount inside. Mostly 20's, a shit ton of wallets, and other things.

Ryan shrugged a little. “I was hungry,” He said simply.

“So you _rob_ a goddamn chicken joint?!” Michael asked out.

“Kiiinda want chicken and joints now,” Ray admitted thoughtfully.

“Ooh! Or chicken and waffles,” Gavin chirped. Ray's mouth dropped at him.

“Aw we should get chicken, waffles, _and_ joints!”

Both their eyes went wide and they high fived each other at the very idea. Michael snapped his fingers at them.

“You two! Shut it!” He turned his attention back to Ryan, “And you! I thought you were on a break!”

“I _am_ on a break!” Ryan assured.

“Uh, there's blood on this money,” Jack announced uneasily.

“Yeah well you're _clearly_ not! Plus you just went on a heist without Geoff's permission!” Michael barked.

“It wasn't a _planned_ heist!” Ryan argued, he teeth gritting as he thought back to that mouthy teen, “I was going in there for some food and the guy taking my order just— _pissed_ me off so freaking much...”

“I think there's some teeth in here too,” Jack muttered as he dug deeper into the bag.

“So you just fucking _rob_ the store,” The redhead in glasses jeered, “You should have called us! We would've helped you hit that place up!”

“What's it matter if I robbed it by myself or if we hit it up together?!” Ryan asked, his hand pointing down towards the bag, “The place got robbed, here's the money, I don't see the big fuckin' deal!”

“The deal is that we do this shit _together_! We're a crew!” Michael bit, “It's not 'Fake AH Crew featuring Ryan Haywood'. It's just the Fake AH Crew! Us! As a whole!”

“Found someone's watch,” Jack mentioned as he pulled it out of the bag, “It's a rolex....high end...t's all bloody...”

He put it back in the bag and continued to dig around as Michael and Ryan continued to argue. Geoff pinched the bridge of his nose and screwed his eyes shut as everyone's voices melded together. He let out a frustrated sigh as his crew members went off on their own separate tangents; Gavin and Ray with junk food and kush, Michael and Ryan about the Crew's dynamic, Jack with the stupid bag...he needed to break this up quick before he went insane.

“ALRIGHT!” He barked out, making everyone jump and look over to him, “Let's quit dicking around for a sec and get back to what happened today. I—”

“ _ **WEAZEL NEWS!** ”_

“Oh goddammit!” Geoff bit, his voice cracking violently, “Gavin! Turn that shit off!”

The brit nodded rapidly and quickly reached for the remote, but Michael suddenly stopped him and pointed towards the TV. The words 'BREAKING NEWS' and 'Tragedy on Del Perro,' scrolled across the screen, and right then, all of them turned their attention towards the action.

“ **Breaking news on the tragedy that occurred only hours ago on the Del Perro freeway, where several Los Santos Police officers, and countless civilians, lost their lives,”** The newswoman suddenly stepped to the right a little, getting in front of a random guy who was holding up a mixtape CD in the background, **“After retrieving the data from the remains of the vehicle that crashed into the blockade, there is now the idea that** _ **hackers**_ **may possibly be involved with the vehicle's loss of control....”**

“What the...?” Jack frowned at the television as a showy clip of fingers typing on a keyboard popped up.

“ **Since the LSPD's newest release of their electrical computer-based WOLF vehicles, reports have shown that while they're efficient, they're completely open to attack via computer.”**

Geoff frowned as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. Completely open to attack...

“ **If this** _ **was**_ **an attack via hacking, informed sources have reported saying, then there's a chance that this** _ **may**_ **be the work of known black-hat computer terrorist Radical Elliot.”**

They put up an image of a grey silhouette with a big white question mark in the middle. Gavin finally grabbed the remote and turned the TV off, looking over at Geoff as he walked over and sat down on the couch across from them.

“Who on earth's this Radical Elliot we keep hearing so much about?” Gavin asked.

“Yeah, the press has a total hard on for this guy, who is he?” Ray asked as well. Geoff folded his arms and leaned back into his seat with a sigh.

“Word's been buzzing around about a computer geek whose been draining the funds of corporate fat cats one by one.”

He looked up at the ceiling, not bothering to make eye contact his crew as memories flooded his head. When he'd first heard of Radical Elliot on the news, the guy had managed to hack into RT Corperation's overseas accounts without anyone knowing. He sucked out over 6.2 million right from under them, and as they went under, the rumors of insider trading started to come up. Then came the investigation, then the raids, and shortly after, the CEO was found dead in his home with a confession in his pocket.

Since then, business in the underground hasn't been the same.

“He's got everyone in the underground on edge,” He informed casually, “Even has big businesses paying geeks through the nose to amp up their security. Everyone's been running around trying to figure out who he is, and just whose side he's on.”

“And let me guess, there's nothing on him,” Michael sighed. Geoff shrugged lightly.

“He's covered his tracks better than we could've done,”

Michael scoffed. “That's not saying much.”

“Hey! I do a pretty good job,” Gavin huffed, turning his attention back to Geoff. “Should we be worried about this guy?”

Geoff frowned as he scratched the little hairs on his chin in thought. This guy was certainly dangerous, and it was clear that he could destroy entire empires and eliminate whoever stood in his path, all with a little bit of computer code. If anything, it was probably best to stay out of his sights for now, until they knew more about him.

“We won't pry too hard, for now,” He insisted simply. He looked over at Gavin, “I want you to call up Lester and see if you two can dig anything up on this guy. Doesn't matter how small it is, I wanna have some idea of what we're up against.”

The brit nodded lightly with a firm, “Right.”

“Don't make too much noise though,” He warned, “I don't want this to get back to the guy and we end up broke and doing _actual_ hard time in jail.”

He looked back over at everyone else.

“Radical Elliot's going to be the talk of the town for a while, hopefully keeping us off the LSPD's shit list for a bit,” He assured them, “I want you guys to keep your ears open and your eyes peeled. Whatever you find out, I want you to report back to me ASAP. Got it?”

The other five crew members nodded, their leader nodding back to them as well. He took a hearty gulp of his drink and finally finished it off.

“Good,” He said firmly, “Now get the fuck out of my apartment.”

Jack handed each of them their cut before the five of them all pooled out of the room. When they made it into the elevator, the man in the Hawaiian shirt let out a hefty sigh.

“Man, I cannot _wait_ to get home.”

Gavin chuckled and gave him a cheeky smile, “What was your excuse this time?”

The bearded man pushed up his glasses slightly to massage the bridge of his nose. “I was behind on a huge pile of work and had to do overtime.”

Michael left out a breathy chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief. “There's no way in hell she's falling for this shit, man. There's _no way_.”

“Well clearly she is, since she's still with me,” Jack retorted.

“Your dick game must be  _hella_ strong, if she's still with you after ditching her for the millionth time,” Ray mused. Jack nudged him in the side and told him to shut the hell up. The four of them laughed lightly before going quiet again, feeling an odd aura of tension radiating from the corner. Ryan stood there with his arms folded and his eyes glued to the marble tile floor. He was thinking hard about something, and it made the four of them curious.

“...Ryan,” Gavin called, receiving no answer for a long minute. “Ryan!”

Ryan's intense blues flicked up to meet Gavin's greens, and the spindly brunette suddenly felt small for a second. He quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat.

“What's wrong?”

The dirty blonde shook his head and looked back down at the floor.

“You're awfully quiet,” Jack mentioned, “And I mean not in your usual, 'dark, psychotic brooding' kind of way. What's bothering you?”

“Nothing,” He answered with a shrug and a shake of his head, “It's nothing, it's....just something I saw today.”

Michael frowned as the elevator doors opened up. The five of them stepped out and started walking across the lobby. “What'd you see?”

The muscle still had his eyes to the floor as he walked, the memory of what happened in the Cluckin' Bell only an hour ago reeling over and over in his mind.

“...I saw a kid,” He answered. Ray and Gavin frowned and looked at each other. Michael and Jack simply blinked at him.

“...a kid,” Michael quoted, “You saw...a kid.”

“Funny thing about big cities,” Ray mused, “There's a shit ton of 'em running around here.”

Ryan finally looked over at them. “That's not what I mean.”

“Well what's so important 'bout a bloody kid?” Gavin asked.

“It's not the fact that it's a kid!” Ryan let out, his voice still at a calm level tone, “It's what I saw this kid do...”

The four other crew members exchanged confused glances before looking at Ryan, their expressions pressing him to explain further. The guy sighed in frustation, running a hand through his matted, dirty blonde locks.

“I sorta ran into this kid—well, almost. I almost hit them with my car,” He shoved his hands into his coat pockets as they exited the apartment and walked into the warm, city streets, “They were fine and all, but I guess they were running from the cops and we ended up getting a wanted level. I tried to take the kid home, but she just got all upset and started freaking out, so I took the kid over to Cluckin' Bell, and—”

“Everything went to shit,” Michael added.

“ _Mistakes were made,”_ Ryan corrected with emphasis, “But while I was holding up the register, the server told me he couldn't open it without buying something first. Then this kid, she got out this DS and started pressing all these buttons and—”

“Wait wait wait,” Michael piped up, “You robbed the chicken joint with a _kid_ inside?”

“What?” Ryan narrowed his eyes and shook his head in confusion, “Yes! I robbed the place, we've been through this.”

“Well did she see your face?!” Michael asked out.

“Yes! Who cares?!” Ryan bit, “Going back to what I was saying, the kid started fiddling around with her DS and suddenly the register opened up!”

“Wait,” Gavin murmured, his brows furrowing, “...wait wot?”

“The register opened up,” The dirty blonde repeated with an exasperated sigh, “The guy wasn't even touching it, he had both his hands up. She managed to open the thing up with just her DS. I saw her do it.”

The five of them reached the sidewalk where their respective cars were waiting for them. They all walked up to Jack's car (his being the closest) and stopped beside it to continue their conversation.

“So, what, you're saying this kid is some sort of Tony Stark?” The man in the Hawaiian shirt asked. Ryan shrugged as he pulled out his keys.

“I dunno, but it was weird,” He remarked, “She was young as hell, looked no older than 11 or 12.”

“A 12 year old kid good at hacking,” Michael scoffed, “Yeah, okay Rye Bread. I'll see you tomorrow.”

“See you guys,” Ray muttered as he walked over to his car.

Gavin gave them all a small wave before heading over to his bright purple motorbike. “Cheers boys, drive safe.”

“Yeah, okay, says the guy without a helmet!” Michael called as he entered his rusty orange Bifta. Both Jack and Ryan wished the rest of the guys goodnight before getting into their respective cars. They all went their separate ways, Ryan casually speeding down the road with the mellow sounds of the late night radio in his ears.

The city lights danced across his windshield and dashboard as he sped down the street, expertly switching lanes and running red lights without so much as a care in the world. His mind wandered over to the Cluckin' Bell, back to where the scrawny, dirt-faced girl with curly hair and bright colorful highlights was. The fact that she managed to open that register with just a DS...

His thoughts were quickly cut off when he heard his cell phone go off beside him. He rolled his eyes and reached towards the car mount, pressing 'talk'. He fully expected to hear Gavin squawking over the phone for help after fucking up somehow.

“What is it, Gav?” He asked out with a sigh. He would have to turn around soon, he just knew it. Dumbass probably wrapped his bike around a tree again.

“...Hi hi!” A cheery, pitched voice chirped after a small period of silence. Ryan frowned. That wasn't Gavin. It was an eerily familiar voice, sure, but it definitely wasn't Gavin. He had to think for a solid couple of seconds before perking up and leaning towards his phone.

“Kid?!” He asked out, “Kid, is that you?!”

He heard her giggle, and he could almost visually see her toothy grin.

“Yup!” She chimed, “I just wanted to let you know that I owe you a favor now.”

“A...Wait, a favor?” He quoted, frowning at the idea, “What are you—uh—how'd you get this numb—”

The phone line went dead right after. The man reached over and pressed 'end' on his phone, the frown still etched on his face. Now he was officially interested in this kid. Who was she? How did she get his number? A whole wave of questions racked through his brain as he stepped on the gas pedal, speeding like a bullet down down the street.


	3. Lawyer Up! (Good Morning)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning goes from 0-100 real quick for the Fake AH Crew.

The sounds of slurping and chewing filled the air as the slumdwelers ate their meal. Elliot had pulled through once again with big buckets of chow mein noodles and cooked veggies. All of it was courtesy of Brother Ming's 2.5 star Chinese food restaurant, a special thanks for their recent million dollar increase in funds.

"Mmmm!" Tamil chirped as she slurped up a long noodle. She smiled brightly. "This is the bestest thing _ever."_

Elliot nodded as she fished out the broccoli with her chopsticks, popping them into her mouth one by one and munching them down. She reached over and grabbed a soda can, popping it open with one hand and taking a swig without missing a beat. The other slumdwellers ate and chattered amongst themselves, long after the 13 year old had gotten up and retreated back to her lair.

She turned on Egg and started getting right to work.

Firstly, by breaking into the LSPD's criminal database. She pulled up everything she could find on the Fake AH Crew. There were six members in total: Geoff Ramsey, Gavin Free, Jack Pattillo, Michael Jones, Ryan Haywood, and Ray Narvaez Jr. Each of them had a RAP sheet that could be wrapped around the world 3 times over, and that was just within the city alone. From what she could find, every state and every country wanted a piece of the Fake AH Crew. They had all done terrible things to a lot of people.

The LSPD must have felt the same way. So much so, that the courts had approved for an arrest warrant, and a raid on Geoff's residence early tomorrow.

She furrowed at the document and scrolled through it, the pages describing what was going to be taken and what it was they were in fact looking for.

-illegal substances / paraphernalia

-computers, cellphones, and tablets

-weapons title II / class II and up

-any and all physical documentation/papers that may lead to the prosecution or arrest of other crews and crew members.

"Uh oh," She murmured, bringing up the command prompt and typing away. The raid was scheduled for tomorrow morning. She didn't have much time. The boys were going to be arrested. There was nothing she could do for them on that front. But she had to make sure that they never saw the prison, unless it was on their own terms. There were scary men in there who definitely wanted them dead as badly as the LSPD did.

And Elliot would have to make sure that doesn't happen. The Crew was made up of a bunch of criminals, yes. They killed cops, they robbed banks, they destroyed buildings. The violence was nothing new in her life, if it wasn't caused by them, it was the cops or the gangs. But those six men did what she and the slumdwellers were too young to do: they got results. If they wanted change, they would get change. If they wanted money, they would get money. If they wanted power, they would have power. The crew was as powerful as they were rutheless, and they were free to do as they please. Elliott admired that more than anything.

She let out a dramatic sigh and shook her head, a smile stretching on her face as she got right to work.

She would have to pull an all-nighter for this one.

* * *

When Geoff woke up the next morning, he wasn't at all surprised to see Ray practically halfway inside his fridge. He only ever went back to his own house on special occasions, i.e. "Twitch Night." The guy was a night owl, pulling red bull-and-domino's-fueled all-nighters to stream himself playing videogames on Twitch for his online fanbase. It was a wonder how he still managed to keep the title of best sniper in the nation. He rarely slept, always ate and smoked, and barely talked. He was just an all around weird guy.

"Morning," Geoff mumbled, pouring himself a cup of coffee, unaware that it was freshly brewed courtesy of Ray. The guy in the purple hoodie waved from the fridge, muttering something as he continued to raid through it. He pulled out a carton of orange juice and plastic bag full of leftover pizza, shutting the fridge door with his foot before walking over to the table where Geoff sat down. As he started to dig in, Geoff reached over and grabbed the newspaper resting on the table, opening it up and reading it as the front door swung open. Gavin and Michael came through with cups of coffee and a box of doughnuts in their hands.

"Mornin', Lads!" Gavin chirped, setting the box down in the center of the table. Geoff mumbled something in response, his eyes never leaving the article he was reading. The boss was far too used to everyone making his house their home base at this point. He'd given up trying to change the locks (Gavin always manages to unlock it) or try and kick them out (Once Ray stayed for a whole week and a half without Geoff realizing it). From then on, he just took it in stride, and accepted that his new apartment was also their new apartment to come and go through as they please.

Both boys grabbed a chair and took a seat at the table, digging into their breakfast as Ray grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. The three lazily watched the Weazel News Team as they flew overhead in a chopper, filming the downtown area below.

" **-And we are moments away from Police apprehension. We've received news that two members have been arrested by the Los Santos Police already..."**

"Jesus, _another_ raid," Gavin groaned, taking a small sip of his drink.

The newspaper let out a loud rustle as Geoff flipped the page. "Sounds like it."

Michael just shook his head and scoffed. "It's probably the Vagos again. Serves 'em right for trying to push coke out here."

" **Police are entering the building now,** "

Ray watched closely as a swarm of black dots started pooling into a high-end building with large glass windows and lavish balconies. He frowned, his eyes skimming over the area, recognizing the little details around it; the bank only a couple blocks away, the building with the beer ad on the side...

This wasn't Vago territory at all.

" **There's no word on whether the remaining members are inside, but we do have confirmation that this** ** _is_** **the suspected hub for The Crew's criminal activity..."**

He dropped the cold pizza slice and suddenly pushed off his chair. Geoff looked up from his paper. Michael and Gavin turned to look at each other before looking back at the TV.

" **...One of many homes belonging to known Kingpin Geoff Ramsey."**

Ray had already started bolting for the bathroom when the other three got up from their seats. Just as he made it past the front door, it suddenly burst open and a swarm of officers clad in SWAT gear started pooling in.

It was a complete shitstorm soon after.

Geoff hit the ground with a hard thud, the side of his head smacking against the asphalt, creating a cut on his forehead that had already started to bleed. He tried to ignore the tickling sensation on his lips as blood continued to gush out his nose, the cops taking no time to sock him hard in the face before slapping the cuffs on his wrists. He felt a heavy boot press down hard on his back and the barrell of a gun press down on his skull, LSPD officers shouting behind their heavy masks for him to stay down. His eyes flicked over to his right as Gavin screamed his head off, flailing against the iron grip of an LSPD officer who had his arms around the smaller man's waist. It wasn't long before the guy smacked him down hard against the hood of a cop car, keeping him pinned there as others pooled in and got him in handcuffs.

"You can't do this!" The brit squawked as he flailed around, "I'm a member of fucking amnesty! I want to call my lawyer! I—MICHAEL!"

Gavin continued to scream and make noise as he kicked and writhed for freedom. Michael was busy spitting cuss words (and actual spit) left and right at the cops. He struggled against the grip a few SWAT members had on his wrists, but overall he cooperated as best as he could.

That was until he saw Gavin attempt to clamor across the hood of a cop car like a worm, only to be violently dragged back by the ankles and left to fall on the ground with his head smacking onto the pavement.

The redhead lost it after that, so much so that he had to be tazed in the side and a cop had to punch him in the face before finally getting him down on the ground.

While all this was happening, Geoff's eyes flicked over to the side of his apartment building, Ray scaling down the side like a cat without saying a word. He actually made it down the fire escape and halfway down the street before he was spotted. Right then, he started to make a break for it, and it looked like he might get away too. That was until a police car came barreling out from an alley, smacking right into him with a loud honk of it's horn. His body smacked into the windshield before rolling off and landing on the ground with a thud. Gavin screamed bloody murder while Michael shouted abuse as the cops surrounded him. They cuffed up his hands and dragged him back to the line of criminals on the ground. Both boys called out to him as he laid there unconscious with broken glasses on his bloody nose. Geoff screwed his eyes shut as he tried to think of a plan. Any plan. He had to get out of this. He had to get his boys out of this. They had to call Lester. But there was no way he would pick up. Things were too wild right now, and the guy wanted to keep off the LSPD's radar. He had to think of something. There had to be something!

"Mr. Ramsey!" A voice bit out.

Geoff opened his eyes, looking over at a man in a nice suit and tie seated across from him. There were dark circles under eyes that paired well with the plum tie he wore. It accented nicely against his crisp white dress shirt and ash grey color of his suit. There was a brown leather briefcase resting beside him with a massive stack of paperwork. No doubt it was only a small section of the charges stacked up against him.

"You are aware that all your belongings are about to be seized by the city of Los Santos," The man in the suit repeated. He looked over at the Kingpin, watching him nod as his scabbed lips form a smirk."Any evidence of incriminating activity could put you and your friends away for a long, _long_ time. You boys have made a lot of enemies in prison, any one of them would love to have a piece of you."

"I like your suit," Geoff remarked. The one eye that wasn't swollen peered down at the sterling silver pin on the lawyer's plum silk tie. "Armani, right? Tailor made? Tiffany pin on the tie?"

"I'm being serious here, Geoff," The man pressed. He leaned forward in his seat and stared the man firmly in the eye, the desperation clear on his sweating face. "If you'll excuse my french, man, you and your boys are in some deep shit here. Some _real deep shit_."

He reached over and grabbed the stack of papers from beside him, frantically flipping through it all. "I-I mean look at all this! Gunrunning, drug dealing, serial assault, illegial emigration, arson, tax evasion, manslaughter, homicide, the list goes on! I mean Jesus Christ!"

Geoff couldn't help but smile and chuckle. Just hearing the charges really brought up some fond memories. The lawyer sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head in defeat.

"You all are _fucked_ ," He sighed heavily, "Sorry to say it, Geoff. But unless God comes up as a surprise fuckin' witness during trial, you guys are probably looking at the death penalty. Minus 'Mr. One Direction' in the other room, of course..."

The Kingpin didn't respond. He just watched as his lawyer sighed and shook his head.

"Look, right about now, it's about saving your own asses," He said sternly, putting a finger down on the table, "Ryan can plead insanity, he's a fuckin' lunatic, they'll buy it. Michael can too, maybe even throw in a bad childhood schpeel, a drug addiction or two. Gavin will be fine. Minus the immigration issues, they got rid of the death penalty over in the UK, so the worst they'll probably do to him is give him a slap on the wrist, and no supper before bedtime. The court doesn't have much on Ray to begin with, aside from a few possession charges and driving without a license."

Geoff frowned and gave him an odd look. "Wait, he doesn't have a license?"

"Focus please," The man urged, getting serious again, "You, sir, gotta bring up your time in the military. Play it like it _really_ fucked with your head, PTSD and all that."

Now it was Geoff's turn to get serious. His expression twisted into something odd as he let out a sharp "What?!" He almost looked like he was offended. "No! No way in hell!"

The lawyer frowned at him."What other choice do you have?! Guys pull that sort of shit all the time!" He whispered sharply.

"Yeah, _assholes_ ," Geoff whispered back, "I got guys who really _did_ get fucked up in the military, I'm not gonna take advantage of their pain to try and cover my own ass."

The lawyer folded his arms and leaned back in his seat. "You know, with a RAP sheet like yours, _Daddy_ , you really aren't at liberty to give such a high-and-mighty speech about pain and morals."

Just then, there was a heavy knock on the door, and two LSPD officers came through. They were surly looking guys, one was tall and blonde with a ken-doll vibe, the other was only slightly shorter with dark hair and thick eyebrows.

"Time to wrap it up, Luna," The shorter one called, "Your skeezy lawyer tricks aren't gonna work this time. We got this case on lock."

Geoff looked over to his lawyer as he cooly slid out of his seat and stood up. He gave his client a firm handshake before gathering up his papers and walking away. He stepped up to the two officers and smiled a cheesy smile.

"Well, we won't know _that_ until the trial," He chirped, giving them a curt nod before slipping past. "Good to see you again, Aaron. Blaine."

The two officers eyed him viciously as he brushed past, the man whistling a chipper tune as he strode down the hall with ease. Convicts in other cells greeted him along the way like an old friend.

As soon as he left, the two men stepped forward and grabbed Geoff by the arms, roughly dragging him out of the room and back to the cell where his other Crew members waited. The Kingpin said nothing. He just kept calm as they brought him back, doing nothing as they shoved him inside the cell before slamming the barred door shut right behind him. Aaron locked the door as the leader turned around, sticking out his handcuffed wrists so the cop named Blaine could get them off.

The officer had to keep everything from breaking the criminal's wrists right then and there.

Instead he uncuffed him, and spat right at the criminal's shoes before leaving. The corner of Geoff's mouth twitched into a smirk as he rubbed his wrists, watching as the two men went back to patrolling the other cells.

When he turned back around, he saw his crew taking things harder than he thought. Michael was pacing around furiously like a wolf while Jack and Ryan sat on the only bench with their heads lowered. Gavin was gently banging his head on the wall. Ray was laying flat on the floor, his head turned away from everyone.

"Ugh what the _fuck_ are we gonna do?!" Michael ground out, furiously running his hand through is rusty curls, "We are so fucked!"

"You're fucked?!" Gavin bit, "I'm fucked! I'm gonna get bloody deported! I can't go back to Pentonville! I'll get—"

"We're _all_ fucked, you guys!" Jack intervened, "We need to build a good defense, which means you guys need to drop Miles. Get a _good_ lawyer for once!"

"Coming from Mr. Moneybags with an in-law as their lawyer," Michael stopped pacing and turned around sharply, looking at him with a frown. "How'd your wife take you getting arrested, anyway?"

Jack's harsh expression loosened and fell into one that looked a mix of fearful and ashamed. His head dropped slightly as he looked down at the floor. "I...I told her that I had Geoff as a client using a fake name. While I took care of his policies, he was secretly setting me up as a scapegoat..."

He folded his hands and sighed heavily, looking up at his leader with sincere eyes.

"I'm sorry, boss."

Geoff casually shook his head and waved it off. "It's fine."

Gavin huffed. "Well I'm glad that's all sorted for you, because I'm going to kill myself."

Michael whipped around and gave him a serious look. "Gavin!"

"I'm not going back, Michael!" He yelped, "I'm not leaving you guys! If I get charged, I'm gonna take my belt, and I am going to hang myself against one of these bars."

"You kill yourself and I will make it a personal goal of mine to die and kick your ass in hell!" Michael shouted.

"Guys! Relax!" Ray let out, the guy sitting up straight to look over at his two best friends, "There's literally nothing we can do here. We just have to keep cool. They haven't got anything serious yet."

"Well that's easy for you to say! You've only got a couple possession charges!" Gavin argued, "You can post bail for that easy!"

"Gavin shut the fuck up!" Michael interrupted. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, his tone coming out a lot calmer. "Ray's right. We gotta keep our cool."

Gavin chewed on his lips and relented from saying anything more. As the hours continued to tick by, both Ryan and Gavin joined Ray on the floor, laying down flat and counting the cracks in the ceiling. Michael continued to pace around while Jack sat back and kept quiet. Geoff leaned up against the bars of the cell, gently tapping his head against the metal as he tried to think of a plan. He needed a plan. None of his underground connections were going to help. They had too much heat. Lester wasn't going to be of any help either. The guy wanted to keep playing dead, and as far as any government official knew, he was. He wasn't going to bail them out. The leader let out a grunt of frustration, screwing his eyes shut tight. He needed a plan!

Just as he was about to bang his head for the umpteenth time, he heard doors open up and several footsteps marching down the hall. He could hear voices going off all at once, several officers talking at the same time as they followed a man in a business suit toward the cell where the Fake AH Crew resided. Geoff stood a little straighter as a taller, stouter man in a high-end suit and glasses stood in front of him outside the cell. He had brown, curly hair and thick framed Emporio Armani glasses. His suit was a exquisite shade of taupe, tailor made with a dark red Alexander Mcqueen tie. The kingpin would have taken the guy for a CEO if it weren't for the shiny badge he sported in his breast pocket. When he saw it, he couldn't help but smirk, watching as Blaine and Aaron came up to the suited with desperate looks on their faces.

"Chief, you can't be serious!" Aaron argued, "We finally have these assholes in custody! If we let 'em go, they'll retaliate and cause more damage!"

"We _can't_ let them out," Blaine stressed, "They'll target each and every one of us. No one is safe as long as these pricks are free!"

The suited man didn't seem to listen. Instead, he looked over to Geoff, a firm expression on his face.

"My name is Michael Burns, and I'm the Chief of Police for the city of Los Santos," He introduced. Geoff's smile grew wider. "Basically what that means, is that it's my job making sure you six never see the light of day, and are stuck playing 'prison wife' at Bolingbroke Penitentiary..."

Geoff nodded lightly, the rest of his crew standing up now and standing beside him. They all watched as the Chief of Police swallowed hard and held his head a little higher.

"For now though, we're obligated to let you go," He said slowly, the words heavy and bitter on his tongue, "Orders came in from on top, and matters of wrongful arrest were brought to our attention."

Gavin let out a noise of relief while Michael let out an audible, "oh, thank fuck!"

"But make no mistake," The commissioner spoke over their sounds of relief, "Something like this won't happen again. We'll be having our eyes on you six...and honestly, I have no doubt you'll be back here within the week."

"You willing to put money down on that?" Gavin asked, smirking as the officers behind the commissioner shot him a dirty look. The Commissioner didn't seem phased by it. Instead he smiled lightly and stepped aside, allowing Blaine to step up to the door and unlock it.

"Enjoy your freedom while it lasts, boys," He chirped as the crew was led out of the cell. The six of them were forced into a line and they each exited the cell one by one, Gavin giving them a small bow while Michael chirped a loving, "Thanks, Burnie!" over to the commissioner. They were handed back their belongings and escorted out of the building. Once they made it to the steps just outside the entrance, Michael let out a howl and Ray loudly thanked Based God. Gavin slid down the banister and held his fists up triumphantly as he landed on the sidewalk.

"FAKE AH CREW SCORES AGAIN, BITCHES!" He cried out. Michael and Ray raced down the steps and leaped into him, holding the guy tight as they cheered and howled victoriously. As the Lads team continued to praise their freedom, The Gents kept their celebration mild—Ryan smiling lightly, Geoff sighing in relief, and Jack immediately calling his wife to tell him that he'd be home in time for dinner.

"Remind me to kiss your wife's brother on the mouth after this!" Michael let out.

"No homo!" Ray cried.

"Yes homo! He bailed our asses out!" Michael laughed, slinging his arm around Ray's neck and pulling him in. As the two continued to rough-house around, Jack turned away with a frown on his face and his cell phone pressed to his ear. He tried listening closely to what his wife was saying, the boys being way too loud for him to make out everything.

"What?!" He chirped, "H-Hold on, sweetie, I'm outside. Alotta reporters—GUYS, SHUT IT! MY WIFE'S ON THE PHONE!...Okay, what were you saying?"

"I was saying, my brother was only covering _your_ case," She specified, her pretty Australian accent getting thicker with stress, "Why would he want to represent a bunch of violent thugs like those guys?!"

Jack frowned even harder.

"O-Oh, yeah!" He coughed a little, trying to regain his thoughts. He pushed up his glasses a little to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I-I know! Right—s-so,"

"So you're coming home soon, right?" She asked, her voice a lot calmer, softer now, "Do you want me to come get you? I don't like the idea of having you out there with the Crew on the loose now. It's not safe..."

"I'll be fine, honey," He assured her, "The Crew's not gonna harm me. Honest. I'm taking a cab right now. I'll see you when I get home."

"...Well, okay then," She relented, the worry still clear in her voice, "I made your favorite though. To celebrate."

His heart fluttered, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks baby, I'll see you soon." He listened as his wife chirped a small goodbye before he hung up. He shoved his phone back in his pocket and turned, Geoff standing right next to him with a frown on his face. The bearded man jumped a little with a loud, "Gah!"

" _Jesus_ Geoff," He breathed out, putting a hand over his heart. Geoff just continued to stare at him.

"Who was that? Your wife?" His voice sounded oddly robotic, "She didn't bail us out, did she."

The spectacled man shook his head, furrowing in thought.

"My brother-in-law was just covering my case," He explained, "He didn't bail us out either."

Before Geoff could get a word in, Gavin's lanky self knocked into him and latched on like a monkey. He slung an arm over the kingpin's neck and held him in close, Michael and Ray running up to join in on the small meeting the two Gents were having.

Ray pointed a thumb over to the big neon sign in the shape of an atom, "Okay, we need to get cheese fries from the Up-n-Atom down the street, because if I don't, I may _literally_ die."

"What're you two chatting about over here?" Gavin asked, Geoff wriggling out of his grip before getting out his phone.

"Jack's lawyer isn't the one who bailed us out."

Gavin frowned. "Wait wot?"

"Was it Lester?" Ray asked.

"Hell no it wasn't Lester! That fat piece of shit only looks out for himself!" Geoff exclaimed. He started furiously tapping away on his phone, rummaging through his contacts list.

"Well who was it then?" Gavin asked out.

"Who gives a shit?! We're out now! Let's go get some goddamn bevs!" Michael called.

"And cheese fries!" Ray chirped.

"We need to find out who it was so we can decide whether or not they're a friendly!" Ryan butted in, "Someone could have bailed us out so they could try and kill us themselves. We need to weigh all the optio—"

Just then, his phone started ringing. He rolled his eyes and let out a "Goddammit!" before answering the phone and putting it to his ear.

"Hello?!" It better not have been Trevor, he thought. That guy was in enough trouble with him already.

"You guys made it out okay, right?" Ryan's eyebrows raised, the voice on the other end sounding significantly younger and sweeter, and much much more female.

"K...Kid?" He asked slowly, the cogs in his brain reeling. He heard her giggle.

"Yup," She chirped, "You guys were in _quite_ a pinch back there. I figured I would just cash in that favor I owe for you."

The man's eyes widened. "Y...You—w-wait a minute, wait a minute, what?!"

"I got you guys out!"

Ryan swallowed hard and shook his head, screwing his eyes shut as he tried to process what he was hearing.

"Wait a minute, you're saying...You're saying that was you."

He opened his eyes and saw the rest of his crew looking at him with great curiosity. Gavin had leaned in extremely close in attempts to listen in, only to be shoved away by Ryan.

"Of course it was me!" The kid sung, letting out a bubbly-sweet laugh, "Who else would it be?"

Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think this through. "Okay...Okay, first, who...Who are you?"

"...Oh, well that's easy," He could practically hear the smile in her voice, "I'm Elliott!"

"...Elliot..." He quoted, his eyes widened as it suddenly clicked in his head. "Wait! You're not—!"

The phoneline went dead before he could finish. He took his phone from his ear and looked down at the screen to his recent calls. An unknown number.

"Who was that?" Geoff asked, his head tilting at the masked man's odd expression. He continued to look down at his phone, frowning at it before putting it back in his pocket.

"The kid I told you about from the chicken joint," He answered, "She says she bailed us out..."


	4. Versus!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff has a proposition.

"How the fuck could a _kid_ obtain the government documents necessary to get the most notorious band of professional criminals out on a simple wrongful arrest charge?"

Michael grabbed his tray of food from the counter and followed Ryan over to the soda machine. The two of them started filling up their cups, Ryan watching as he filled his with Diet Coke.

"She said her name was Elliott," He remarked, taking a sip of his drink and sighing at the crisp taste.

"Elliott," Michael quoted, taking a sip of his Mountain Dew, "Like, as in Radical Elliott?"

He followed Ryan over to the table where the others were sitting. Geoff was spiking his Coke with a mini of whiskey while Jack was busy on his phone doing damage control with his extended family. Gavin lazily checked his social media sites on his phone while Ray was busy with his food. He had ordered five separate orders of cheese fries and dumped them all on a single tray, opening the tower of cheese cups one by one and pouring them on top.

"You think this kid is _the_ Radical Elliott?" Michael repeated, the smugness clear in his tone, "Famous computer terrorist Radical Elliott."

"Don't patronize me," Ryan demanded. Michael held his hands up defensively.

"I'm not patronizing! I just think it's funny—"

"What's funny?! When I met this kid, she was running from the cops! A _shit ton_ of cops!"

"That doesn't mean jack _shit,_ Ryan! She could've been running for any number of reasons! _"_

"Reasons including being the hacker, right?!"

"Okay!" Geoff let out, the boys shutting up at an instant. "Look, no matter who this kid is, it's clear that they have skill. Skill that we could use for future business ventures..."

He turned and looked over at Ryan. "Do you know where this kid lives?"

The man swallowed and shook his head. "No."

"Do you know where she goes to school? Any hangout spots? Anything about her?"

"She's...about ye high," He answered thoughtfully, holding a hand just above his hip, "Skinny as hell, dark brown skin, dark curly hair, crazy colored highlights in it..."

"Gavin, can you work with that?" Geoff asked. The Brit nodded lightly as he slipped on his sunglasses.

"I'll see what I can dig up."

The leader nodded. "Good. Okay, Ryan, you go with Gavin and help track down the kid. We're gonna rendezvous back at Ray's at 10 tonight to form a plan."

"Plan for what?" Michael asked.

The leader looked over at him and wolfish grin slowly started stretching across his face.

"A plan to show the LSPD just how thankful we are for their hospitality."

The rest of the men all smiled and nodded in agreement. If there was anything they loved to do more, it was showing the cops a good time.

* * *

The six of them split up and went their respective ways. Jack went home to reconvene with his wife. Ryan went god-knows-where with Gavin. Michael and Ray made their way back to their cars for a night involving reckless driving and scouring through their connections for info. And Geoff, well...

Geoff went back to his apartment, lighting himself a cigar and pouring himself a glass of whiskey on rocks, taking it outside onto the balcony so he could overlook his city. The robust taste of burning Cuban tobacco leaf filled his senses as he stared out that the bustling city below. Cars and people flowed through the streets like blood cells in a vein. The entire city pulsed and quivered steadily with life like a beating heart.

A heart he was eager to consume whole.

The very thought brought a smile to his face. He took a hearty gulp of his drink before carefully setting the glass down on the balcony railing. The burning sting hit the back of his throat before going down smooth, warming his insides like a gentle embrace. He sighed out loud, smiling a lazy, sated smile as a cooling breeze blew by. Despite what happened this morning, it really was a perfect day today. The air felt fresher, his cigar tasted better, everything just seemed...better.

 _'_ _You can run on for a long time, Run on for a long time...Run on for a long time, Sooner or later God'll cut you down, Sooner or later God'll cut you down..._ "

Geoff slid his phone out of his pocket, swiping the screen to answer before putting it to his ear. "Hello?"

The caller didn't speak right away. There was a small pause at first, and it made him frown. Usually his callers got straight to the point, first timers always spoke with their voices shaking so bad and breathing so hard, he'd often thought they'd pass out. Whoever calling wasn't a first timer, or if they were, they were certainly unafraid of wasting the Kingpin's time.

"Hi Daddy," A voice cooed in his hear. Geoff's eyebrow quirked.

"What's going on, kiddo?" He put the cigar to his lips and took a puff, "Shouldn't you be in bed right now?"

He listened to a sweet giggle. "Bedtime's for squares. I found better things to do."

He let out an airy scoff. "Like swindling millions in cash and fueling computer-based terrorism?"

"Don't forget bailing out five-star criminals," The voice added, a smile clear in their tone, "I owed your man a favor. You guys ended up in a pickle, so I figured I'd cash it in for him and help you out."

"So you admit it, then?" He asked, "You're the one stealing our thunder, Radical Elliott?"

She didn't answer right away. When she did, she let out a hearty giggle. He smiled lightly and took one final puff from his cigar before smothering it out and flicking the stub over the edge

"You and I need to have a proper chat," He tilted his head up exhaled a heavy cloud, "I have a possible business opportunity I'd like to run by you. Stop by my place for lunch tomorrow. My friend Ryan can pick you up."

"Sounds good to me," She chirped.

"Good," He replied, the corner of his mouth quirking, "Address?"

"No need," She insisted simply, "I already have yours. See ya!"

Geoff pressed to end the call and pulled up his recent contacts. The smile on his mustached face grew wider.

Unknown Number.

* * *

Geoff only ate on the roof for special occasions; birthdays, sebbaticals, completing high-paying jobs, and discussing business with fellow underground bosses and ganglords around the area.

He never thought it would be to discuss business with a 13 year old. The thought made him chuckle throughout the entire morning, up to when he got to the roof and laid back on his new lounge chair, his hands behind his head and an amused smile on his face. The rest of his crew were either in their swimsuits or their summer wear as they went around getting things ready. Gavin and Ray were assigned to pool toys, Jack and Ryan with the grill, and Michael with the bevs. The redhead brought in two coolers full of ice, both of them separated by their content.

"Okay, bevs in one, soda in the other," He announced with a satisfied sigh, "Ryan, I got you Diet Coke. And Ray, I got you Capri Suns and Mountain Dew baja blast."

Ray reached out and gave him a solid fist bump before going back to inflating some floatie toys. Gavin tossed the ones already done into the pool, including a few of the blow up dolls that were given as gag-gifts on their respective birthdays.

"So why we doing this again?!" Gavin asked out over to Geoff, "If the kid's Radical Elliott, she won't care about a damn pool party."

"It's to say thank you for saving our asses," He answered, briefly lifting up his gold rimmed aviators to look at him, "Also, I want her to be comfortable. I've got something I wanna run by her."

Gavin held his arms out. "Well, care to run it by us?"

Geoff smirked lightly before letting his sunglasses fall back on his face. He leaned back into his seat and let the afternoon sun beat down on him. "Not really."

The brit huffed lightly before retreating over to the pile of pool noodles. Of course Geoff was gonna throw them into another situation. He was the leader and all that, but if this kid was a terrorist, he could end up screwing them all over. To the point of no return.

He let out a small sigh in defeat. He had to trust Geoff. No matter what, he knew that his leader would never try and screw them over on purpose. Every plan he made had everyone's well-being in mind. He wanted everyone to benefit from it. He had to trust him, and hope that everything would turn out okay.

He grabbed a pile of pool noodles and tossed them into the pool, sighing heavily before rubbing the back of his aching neck. The need for a cold bev creeped up on him. He figured he and Ray had earned at least one for all their hard work.

When he turned around to face the cooler, an extra body was already sitting at the table. He jumped back a little and made a noise out of shock, the other men turning around to look at what he was squawking at.

She stared over at him curiously, sitting down down right on top of the table with her bony legs crossed indian style. Her cheeks were puffed up as she ate, her mouth already stuffed with half a cheeseburger and some fries. She stared at Gavin quizzically and he stared back at her, his eyes widening as he stood up straight and took a step forward.

"How..." He shook his head in disbelief, "Wait...How'd you get in here?!"

"Door was open," She answered, stuffing the last bit of her burger in her mouth. "Ya goph anee kephuph?"

She wiped her hands on her comic book print leggings and started looking around on the table. Gavin's mouth dropped a little before he shut it and swallowed.

"The—Th-The door's locked," He mentioned, "There's no way you could get in!"

Ryan's looked down to the carrying case she had draped over her shoulder. Small enough to fit a Nintendo 3DS. He looked back over at the girl as she grabbed a bottle of ketchup and flicked open the cap, tilting the thing up before squirting a bit into her mouth. Gavin gagged. She set the bottle down and wiped her mouth, looking over at the Fake AH Crew as they now all looked at her.

"Holy _shit_ , dude," Ray muttered.

" _This_ kid is Radical Elliott?" Michael spoke, his eyes sizing her up and down. "Jesus, she looks about six!"

The tiny girl furrowed and folded her arms, showing off the colorful, plastic glitter bangles on her wrists.

"I'm actually 13, thank you very mu— " She stopped mid sentence when she noticed the man with the dirty blonde hair tied up in a messy bun. Her large, brown eyes seemed to sparkle and widen, and she pushed herself off the table squeaking, "Ryan!"

She bolted over to Ryan and wrapped her bony arms around his stocky frame, the man instantly lifting his arms up like he would catch something if he touched her. She simply hugged him tighter, beaming brightly up at him as he looked down at her in awkward confusion.

"I missed you!" She chirped, "You don't mind that I cashed in that favor I owed ya, do ya? I saw the police records, I just had to help!"

Ryan swallowed hard, and quirked an eyebrow, "Uhhh—"

"Of course you don't mind!" She giggled, "You're free now! Free to cause all sorts of mischief. You're gonna get back at the cops, right? You should!"

A firm, clearing cough went off from behind her, and the girl turned to see who it was. A man with dark messy hair, dressed in tattoos from his shoulders to all the way down his arms, stopping at his knuckles. This man was dangerous beyond all reason, and that only made her smile more. Elliott looked up at the man with a growing smile, stepping up to him and holding out a hand.

"Lazer,"

"Elliott," He said back, gently shaking her hand before showing her to her seat. She sat down on a pool chair and watched as the kingpin sat down across from her, the rest of his men sitting around him. They all looked her over closely, studying her, observing every little movement she made as she sat up and smiled over at the leader.

"So," She chirped out, "Let's talk business."

The Kingpin nodded firmly, sitting up straight before leaning forward. He rested his elbows on his knees and folded his tattooed hands, staring at the small girl intently.

"I'm a fan of your work, kid."

Her expression brightened and she gave him a cheesy grin. "Thanks."

"What you did for us back there, I'd say it's earned you something," He gave her a lopsided smirk, "So, I'm gonna give you an audition."

"What?!" Everyone suddenly let out behind him. Ray dropped his pool noodle while Michael almost choked on his beer. He let out a few sputtering coughs as Jack walked up next to his boss.

"Geoff, you can't be serious!" He protested, tossing a hand in her direction, "I mean look at her, she's a freakin' kid!"

"Yeah! I mean we've had some young ones help out, but isn't there a fuckin' age limit?!" Michael let out.

"If she's as good as she says she is, then it should be easy," The boss reasoned, his tone still level as the rest of his crew continued to protest. Ray was the only one who stayed quiet while the guys argued. Instead, he eyed the girl's comic book leggings and cowboy boots before looking at her little messenger bag.

"Hey," He muttered lowly to her.

She looked over at him and smiled."Hi."

He tilted his head towards her bag. "You play DS?"

She nodded firmly, digging through her small bag and pulling it out for him to see. He pulled out his own purple 3DS from his back pocket and showed it to her.

"You got Pokemon?"

Elliott nodded and opened it up, the two of them starting up their games when Geoff's voice interfered with all the bickering.

"Alright, alright!" He said the other four, "Look, if she really _is_ Radlical Elliott like she says, then the job I have for her will go off without a hitch! It's easy—"

"I don't give a shit if it's easy, she's just a kid!" Michael argued.

"We never send kids out to do our work!" Gavin added in, "What happens if she gets hurt, huh?! Her parents will come after us!"

Geoff opened his mouth to retort, but a voice yelling "I'll do it!" beat him to the punch.

The five men turned to look at her, a mix of seriousness and surprise on all their faces.

"I'll do it, jeesh," She repeated, her eyes glued to her DS screen as she sent out a level 45 Pikachu. Ray sat down beside her on the pool chair, his thumbs tapping away on the A and B buttons. He sent out a level 50 Snorlax.

"What's the job?" She asked Geoff, the kingpin staring down at her with a nod of satisfaction.

"It's nothing hard, really," He mused with a lopsided grin, "Just a couple of things to do."

 

Jack and Ryan sat at the edge of the pool, having a quiet conversation about Geoff's decision while Gavin and Michael had breath holding contests with each other in the water. Ray and Elliott floated around on pizza and donut shaped floats, still focused on their 3DS's as they battled each other in Pokemon. Geoff sat outside the pool in a chair with a beer in his hand, texting one of his contacts about tomorrow's mission. If there's one thing Geoff loved most, it was devising the plans, his mind an endless chest full of ideas and schemes. He pulled up Lester's number and called, listening to the dial tone a few times before the familiar, nasally voice rang in his ears.

"Hey Lazer," He heard the guy greet, "Hold on I—OOOH! SNIPED YOUR ASS!"

The muffled sounds of TV gunfire went off in the background. Geoff rolled his eyes and put his phone to the other ear.

"Lester."

"Teabag time, douchebag," Lester grunted a few times before laughing loudly, "Yeah! How do ya like that?"

Geoff made a gagging noise and shuddered before sharply calling out, "Lester!" Ray and the others jumped slightly and looked over at him. He waved them off, mouthing that he was fine.

"What?! Okay! I'm done!" Lester bit back, the game's volume going significantly lower, "What can I do for you, _Daddy_?"

Geoff shuddered again. Any normal person who called him that said it with fear, or even friendliness if they were close. Lester wasn't normal, and he most _definitely_ wasn't a friend. The nerdy fuck always made a point to accentuate his infamous streetname in a way that made Geoff squirm—making it roll off his tongue in a disgustingly oversexual manner.

"Don't call me that, _ever,_ " He warned lowly, his lips pursing as Lester let out a wheezing laugh through the phone. The leader had half a mind to let Ryan just burn his house down like he had always dreamed, but unfortunately, Lester was a necessary evil. He needed the guy for his skills, and whether he himself liked it or not, Lester was a vital part of their heists being as successful as they are.

But that would change soon enough, Geoff thought. If this next heist went as well as he thinks it will, he can finally say 'fuck you' to Lester and let Ryan burn his house down. The guy needed to get outside more anyway.

"I'm gonna need a few things for a job I'm planning," He announced, "I need this week's work schedule for all the employees, building schematics, vault layouts, and numbers on how much money we're looking at."

He heard the guy sigh heavily though the speaker before shifting. He heard papers shuffling and what sounded like soda cans hitting the floor before he heard typing. Lots and lots of typing.

"So, this isn't just your usual petty heist at a stop 'n go," He mused with a nasally laugh, "I saw the big raid on the news. Who knew you could still look so sharp even when getting arrested."

"Well I had to look my best, there were cameras there!" Geoff chirped, Lester letting out a wry scoff as he continued to type.

"Alright. I'm assuming this is at the Pacific Standard bank?"

"Hey Geoff! Look at this!" Gavin chirped quietly. He filled one end of a pool noodle with water and held the other end high in the air. He took a deep breath and blew into the hole hard, water shooting out the other end like a small fountain. Geoff gave him a thumbs up, still focused on his conversation.

"That's correct," He said simply to Lester. "I want you to send the data over to Gavin's laptop."

"Sure thing," The guy muttered, "Oh, and I think you'll be eager to know that the internet is a-buzz with Radical Elliott's latest endeavor getting you guys out of the clink."

Geoff sat up a little straighter and frowned. "Wait, what?"

"Yyyup," He mused, making a small popping sound at the 'p', "Word got out that it wasn't me who bailed you, which is regrettable honestly, I could use the credit."

He let out a small and awkward cough when he heard Geoff stay silent.

"Anyway, Crews are babbling on social media, offering big money for his services like some cheap yet lovable whore on Sunset ave after 9:00." He let out a scoff. "It's hilarious, no one even knows how to get into contact with this guy. No one even knows who or where he is."

The kingpin's eyes flicked over to the small girl on the pizza floatie, her eyes glued to her 3DS screen as her and Ray continued to play together.

"Do _you_ know who he is?"

Lester let out a scoff. " _Hell_ fucking no. The guy's a ghost. Can't even find so much as an IP on him."

Geoff smirked lightly and scoffed through his nose. "That's tough as dicks, man. So you'll get me my stuff?"

"Yeah yeah, gimme a couple hours," Lester spoke, hanging up quickly after. Geoff locked his phone and set it down beside him, his hands going behind his head as he looked up at the sky. It really was a nice day out. Nicer than all the other days. The sky was bluer, and the air was warmer—Warm, and filled excitement of the mischief that was to come.

"HA! I won, fucker!" Michael let out, both he and Gavin popping up from the water after yet another contest. Geoff sat up in his seat.

"HEY! Watch your mouth! We got a kid here!"

"Yeah, Michael!" Gavin huffed.

"Shut the hell up Gavin!" The redhead spoke out, turning to look over at his boss, "Sorry Geoff!"

Ray suddenly raised his hands in the air. "OOOOH! I won! Pokemon master confirmed!"

"No fair!" Elliott yelped, "I call a rematch!"

"Rematch nothin'! I won! You owe me your Ninetails!"

"Will you two nerds cut the shit and actually swim?!" Michael asked. "Sorry Geoff!"

Geoff gave him a thumbs up. After the two put their DS's away, they got to swimming with the others. Gavin kept trying to do handstands underwater, but kept getting tipped over by Ray and Michael. It quickly transformed into a VS game: Gavin had to do a handstand for 5 seconds to win and avoid being tipped over by the others. If he won, he got free pizza and a bigger cut on their next heist. If he lost, then he got nothing. The minute Geoff chirped out "VERSUS!" Gavin squawked and flailed around, frantically trying to keep his handstands as the others swam after him like sharks to a seal. Elliot swam up to Ryan's ankles and gently tugged on his foot, smiling up at him as he gently kicked the water and splashed her a little. She squealed and wiped her face before clamoring up onto the ledge, sitting herself down right next to him.

Elliott was having the time of her life, watching all of them as they horsed around in the water, so carefree and playful, not too different than how they acted during heists. The two of them watched as the other crew members continued to screw around in the water, Geoff commentating and coaching loudly from the safety of being outside of the water. Elliott smiled brightly and chuckled. She liked these guys, they were funny.

"You really think you can do this, kid?" She heard Ryan ask. She turned to look at him and saw the seriousness on his face. She looked back at him and nodded.

"Of course I can,"

"There's a chance you could die," He said to her, the dead seriousness in his voice, "You could _actually_ die during this heist. You're not scared?"

Her lips twisted to the side as she thought about it, her bony legs gently kicking up the water at a steady pace. A mischievous grin stretched across her face and she shook her head. "Nope!"

* * *

Elliot was allotted to take the guest bedroom in Geoff's house for the night. It was spacious and expensive looking with modern furniture, a large king-sized bed, and an even larger TV on top of Japanese maple wood drawers. The walls were decorated with colorful paintings and large plants sat in the corners of the room. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought this was a high end hotel room. There was even a mini bar by the TV.

After crawling into the plush bed, Elliott found herself staring at the ceiling for the longest time. She couldn't close her eyes. She was far too excited to sleep. Her first Heist was tomorrow. She was gonna experience a real heist with a real Crew for the very first time. She couldn't help but wonder where it would be. Maybe some place small like a 24/7? Or perhaps some place huge like the Maze bank?

She sat up in bed and huffed. There was no way she could sleep now. This was all too exciting. She crawled out of bed and quietly crept out of the room. This was her chance to get to know the infamous kingpin and how he lived.

And boy, did he live up to his name.

Expensive, black and silver furniture. Minimalist decor. A fancy, high end bar that was fully stocked and stacked high with over eight shelves full of bottles. The bathroom was encased in black marble, with a large Jacuzzi tub built right in. The mirrors over the sinks were huge, and the glass walls around the shower were lined with smooth stones along the bottom. The girl was at a loss for words. This place was fit for a King.

She stepped out of the bathroom and explored around the living area. He had a decent stack of books on his shelves. A big fireplace as well. The tile floors were shined to perfection in the kitchen, and the carpeting in the living area was soft and free of stains. She couldn't help but smile. This place was amazing!

She heard a muffled cough suddenly go off near her. She turned and faced the sliding glass door, Geoff standing outside on the balcony in just a black t-shirt and boxers. Puffs of cigar smoke escaped his mouth while he stared out at the city, a glittering sea of lights lined with mountains. The girl yawned and quietly stepped forward, opening up the door to feel the warm air embracing her skin.

The sounds of the city flooded her ears as she stepped out and walked up next to Geoff. The two of them looked out at the scenery, not saying a word as the city continued to pulse and flow on without them. It was oddly calming, she thought. The faint scent of smoke, the image of the city lights and the night life that buzzed on below. It calmed her nerves, and rested whatever fears she had hidden below that firey, childish spirit of hers. Los Santos wasn't just a city, it was an opportunity, an experience. And she was on the experience of a lifetime, entering a world of heist crews and the chance to make big money through hard work. That big money she could use to for the Slumdwellers, and maybe even buy a really big house where they could all live. Where they could be safe, and happy, and free to do whatever they wanted.

"You're gonna see a lot of messed up shit tomorrow, kid," She heard the kingpin say. She looked up at him, watching as he took a heavy hit from his cigar before letting it out in a smokey sigh. "I'm not gonna lie to ya."

She looked back out towards the city, her lips twisting to the side as she stared out at the iconic Vinewood sign.

"I've been living on the streets for as long as I can remember..." She looked back up at her leader, a weak smile on her face. "I've seen death...faced it more times than I can count..."

Geoff looked at her with a small frown on his face when he spotted it. That brief change in her expression, that flash of vulnerability in her eyes that let him know that there was something there that she wasn't telling him.

"I'll be okay," She asserted, her eyes sparkling with the reflection of the city, "I'm a lot tougher than I look..."

" _You're a lot tougher than you look_ , _avyon de gè,_ " her dad would lovingly tell her. Her dad had a smile like the cheshire cat, full of mischief and favor and love. Mom would tell her that's where she got her smile. And where she got her mischievous attitude.

"You're a troublemaker, _avyon de gè_ ," Her mom would sigh, cleaning up her little scraped knees and picking branches out of her kinky curls. "What are we to do with you?"

She couldn't speak a lick of English at the age of five, but she could smile that cheshire smile, and all would be forgiven. Her mother would chuckle and shake her head before sending her off to go play with the other children in the neighborhood. She'd never forget the slews of children who played in the fire-hydrant during the hot summers, while the adults sat on their respective porches and watched.

She'd never forget the car that pulled up during the hottest summer, and all the adults that took their children inside. She was left outside by herself, left to stand in the street while the water continued to run under her bare feet. She'd never forget the men who came flying out of the car, wearing shiny badges and holding shiny guns in their hands. God, how they ran. They ran to her house like their lives depended on it. They didn't even knock on the door. One of them barged through screen door like a charging rhino, and the other bolted through as quick as lighting. She heard screaming. And then gunshots. And then water. The water that continued to splash and run beneath her feet. She stood there until her toes went cold. She didn't move a muscle. She just stood there and watched as the two officers walked out without a scratch on them. Their strides were steady and focused, they towered over her like giants. They didn't even give her the time of day as they walked back to their car.

The street was quiet. Not a single scream or cry was heard that day. The little girl, who was lovingly called ' _fighter_ ' by her parents, didn't move from that spot. She didn't move, she didn't say a word, and she didn't cry.

She was, after all, a lot tougher than she looked...

But, admittedly, there were days when she wasn't so tough. Like the days when the blankets were yanked off of her in the morning, and a rush of cold sent shivers up her spine.

Today was very much one of those days. And when she snapped open her eyes, she didn't see the familiar group of dirty-faced children beaming down at her, screeching good morning. Today, she saw the face of Michael, stern and focused, his expression grim.

"Rise and shine, kid," He said plainly, pulling the blankets off of her. She groaned and tried pulling them back, but the redhead only pulled them away harder. Their little tug-of-war session only lasted for a few seconds before she finally just let go and buried her face back into the pillow. Michael pulled that away from her too, before smacking her side with it with a soft thud.

"I said, get _UP_!" He tossed the pillow away from her and let out a frustrated growl when she didn't budge. The kid was already proving to be a pain in the ass, and it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet.

Elliot laid face down on the mattress with her eyes wide open. She stared over at the nightstand, her heart pattering with the ticking of the alarm clock. Today was the day. Her first real heist. She heard Michael growl above her before mumbling a less than subtle 'fuck it' before leaving. The minute he shut the door (and he did it rather hard), she slowly rolled herself off the bed and onto the floor. She landed on her hands and knees and got up, walking over to the bathroom to take care of business. When she turned on the light and looked at herself in the mirror, she was greeted by a grim expression, messy, colorful curls, and dark circles under her eyes. She splashed her face with water and mentally slapped herself into focus. Focus. She needed to focus.


	5. The Pacific Standard Job! (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heist is on, kids! Elliott's very first job starts off pretty simple, but as the night goes on, it escalates into something she never imagined. It's an awful lot to take in, but hey, Geoff warned her.

"Is she up yet?" Geoff asked, holding his mug out as Ray poured him a cup of coffee. Michael walked out of the guest room with a frown on his face. He tossed his hands up in the air.

"The fuck if I know, the kid's worse than Ray," He bit. Ray shrugged with a simple 'meh.' before popping open his can of Red Bull and chugging it down. Gavin nibbled on a single piece of toast while he watched Jack and Ryan inspect their personal weapons. They started screwing on the silencers when Elliott finally stepped out of her room, every head suddenly lifting to look over at her as she came in. She was fully dressed, although her hair was still in a wild faux hawk of curls colored at the tips. She was clearly still tired, her eyes still heavy and her expression tip-toeing between sleepy and irritated. She walked over to the kitchen without saying a word to anyone, only grunting when Geoff bid her a sarcastic, "Well good morning, sleeping beauty."

She made a beeline for the fridge and pulled out the orange juice, drinking straight from the carton before putting it back. Gavin wrinkled his nose a little, watching as she continued to dig through the fridge like a tiny, 13 year old raccoon. She pulled out a carton of day old lo-mein noodles and a couple slices of ham from the fancy deli in vinewood. A breakfast for champions. She took it over to the dining table and sat right on top instead of in a chair, crossing her legs indian style before munching away in silence. The others just looked at her slightly slack-jawed, and she just looked back at them with a frown.

"Whathph?" She said with her mouth full. Michael grunted and pinched the bridge of his nose while Jack just sighed and shook his head. Geoff just rolled his eyes and slid out of his seat, the kingpin walking over to the girl and ushering her off the table

"Alright, c'mon, off!" He instructed, gently patting the girl's back as he ushered her towards the living room, "We're going to church."

The girl clutched onto her meal and looked up at him with a confused frown. "Whathph?!"

"Church" was a hidden room in the far back of Geoff's apartment, inconspicuously placed behind a door that acted as part of the wall. Geoff pushed open the door and the young teen stepped inside, her eyes widening at the sight as the others pooled in and walked past her. The room was way more advanced looking compared to the rest of the apartment. The wall in front of her was covered in maps and blueprints of Los Santos, all marked up with pins and lines of yarn stretching everywhere. Photos were tacked up everywhere—several candid shots of people she'd never seen before. Some where circled with black marker, others were marked with 'X' in red marker. A large dry erase board was placed next to the map. Along with the occasional dick drawing and a big 'brownman wuz here' in blue marker, the mission and everything needed to set up was already scribbled down and ready to be checked off. Over in the right corner of the room, there was the locker area. The place was packed with Geoff's personal stock of weapons, body armor vests, ammo boxes, lock picking tools, and everything else needed to pull off a successful heist. The 13 year old's eyes sparkled and her mouth dropped in awe. She was gonna get to use all this?

She felt a hand place itself on her shoulder and she turned around, Ryan looking down at her.

"Listen closely, kid," He muttered, pointing over to Geoff as he stood in front of the map. The kingpin straightened his suit and tie and cleared his throat. He opened his mouth to speak, and it was right then the group started to transform. All the others started talking at once, tossing small jokes or a little conversation here and there. The energy went from tense and tired to amped and lively within seconds.

Geoff put a hand on the map. "Alright, guys—"

"Ayoo! Heist!" Gavin chirped out. Michael chuckled lightly and shrugged.

"Yup! Heist!"

"Everybody ready?" Jack asked. Ryan gave a small nod as he started tying his hair back.

"Yup! Just uh, gotta put my mask on."

"Are we gonna gonna have to use the drill again?" Ray asked out, "Because the last time I got fucked over."

Geoff pointed at the map again. "Okay. Guys—"

"That wasn't the drill's fault, it's because Ryan didn't turn off the security system in time," Michael laughed.

"Hey! I was busy with crowd control!" Ryan excused, "You try hacking and keeping the crowd from calling 9-1-1 at the same time."

"I don't think I _ever_ wanna be held hostage by Ryan," Gavin quipped with a chuckle, "The last big heist we did, he spent half the time shooting the faces off of the statues in the bank."

"Yeah don't do any of that freaky shit and scare the kid off today, Ryan," Michael instructed, "We actually need her somewhat."

The dirty blonde in the black and blue jacket shrugged before slipping his skull mask on. "No guarantees."

Geoff let out a rigid sigh before putting a hand on the map for a third time. "Alright!"

Finally, he got their attention. Six faces all looked at him, and he looked back at the map. "This is Los Santos." he said, slapping the map with his hand, "We all know it. We all love it—"

"I don't," Ray mumbled.

"We all _appreciate_ it," The kingpin finished. He pointed to a specific area on the map and circled it in black marker. "This is the bank we're going to hit up. The Pacific Standard."

Elliot peered over at where he was pointing and nodded. The Pacific Standard prided itself on providing quality financial service to all of Los Santos's finest. That included policemen.

"The job is simple," He instructed, taking a step to the left and pointing to the list on the whiteboard in bullet points. "Get in. Fuck it up. Get cash. Duck out. Bro down."

The door behind them suddenly opened up and everyone turned to see who it was. A stocky man in an old flannel shirt, tan slacks and tennis shoes came hobbling in by cane with an awkward grin on his round face.

" _Good morning, Angels_ ," The stout man let out a wheezing laugh as he hobbled along, his cane hitting the concrete hard with every step he took. Gavin just looked at him in uneasiness while Michael wrinkled his nose in obvious disgust. Elliot looked at each of their expressions with great curiosity. Not one of them liked the guy. She turned to look at the odd man as he limped up to the table and set down the stack of blueprints he'd been carrying under his free arm. The sides were a little moist from his pit sweat, and Gavin audibly gagged. The odd man must have missed it, or just didn't care, because he opened up the blueprints and dove right into the briefing.

"I'm assuming Lazer here briefed you on the target," He pointed down at the bank's main entrance, "Those overly leveraged turds at Pacific Standard are gonna be hit at their flagship branch." He looked up at the small crowd and held up his index finger. "How are we going to do that, you ask? Well, it's a little complicated, but there are some trucks that I need you to photograph when you're out on the street."

Elliot furrowed a little, watching as the balding man in glasses limped over to the whiteboard. He pointed up to the first task written out on the board.

**GENESIS - RETRIEVE TRANSPONDER**

"One of those trucks has a built-in transponder," He informed, "And we need our transponder to blip out a 'don't-explode' signal to the dye packs when we take them out of range of the Pacific Standard signal..."

He hobbled his way over to Ryan and looked him firmly in the eye. "Got it?"

The man in the skull mask nodded firmly, the others in the crew soon following. Elliot suddenly raised up her hand. Michael quickly reached out and grabbed it, making her lower it to her side. Unfortunately, Lester caught sight of it and limped his way over to her. Despite being slightly hunched over when he stood, he still towered over the girl like a giant. A giant that reeked of B.O, old dust, and mothballs. Her nose twitched a little and she rubbed it before speaking.

"Why not use the traffic speed cameras to get a picture of the trucks?"

The corner of Geoff's mouth immediately twitched up and he looked over at Lester.

"I mean, the driver's going to spot us," She went on, "They'll know something's up if we're just following them around snapping pictures out in the open."

Lester leaned over and got closer to the young girl's face, his bright green eyes narrowing before scanning her up and down. An awkward grin stretched across his speckled face.

"Well the boys will just have to be inconspicuous then, won't they?" He let out a wry chuckle and stood back up, looking over at the guys who were now eyeing him firmly. He pointed a finger down at Elliott. "One of you boys playing nanny? Or are the corner girls nowadays getting younger?"

"Whoa! Hey!" Jack let out as the others made a noise out of disapproval. Gavin let out an audible "Oh my god" while Michael just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Ray frowned and pulled Elliott closer to his side, away from Lester. Ryan started stepping over to the guy, but Geoff was way ahead of him. He stepped up to Lester and stared him firmly in the eye, the same bright-eyed, don't-fuck-with-me stare that made countless mob bosses and policemen shit their pants.

"Alright," He bit, pointing over to the board, "Just finish the fucking briefing and then get the fuck out."

Lester held up a defensive hand and let out an "Alright! Alright!" with a snide grin. He hobbled back over to the board. "Look, don't worry about it! Just take the pictures, and I'll let you guys know which one to hit. Once we got the transponder, we'll need to have it programmed to the Bank's frequency..."

He pointed to the next photo with his cane. "Now my er...signals expert, Avi Schwarzmann, he's er...he's been on the run for years, you know? Avoiding people. Holed up somewhere in bumfuck nowhere, near North Chumash, you know?"

He gave another uneasy grin and pointed to each of them. Everyone except Elliott. "You go up there, you make nice, you bring the device back, and I'll brief you on the rest."

"Great!" Michael chirped out, turning to point over to the door, "Now get the fuck outta here."

He didn't need to be told twice. Lester hobbled out of there as fast as his legs could take him.

But not before giving Elliott a little wink before leaving.

Ryan followed Lester out Geoff's place and slammed the door behind the guy as he left, huffing in frustration before returning to Church. Geoff was off showing Elliott specific details on the board while the other guys started getting ready by the lockers.

"Like what _in the fuck_ was that?" Gavin asked, his voice lowered so Elliott and Geoff wouldn't hear. Ray frowned as he started screwing on the silencer to his pink sniper rifle.

"It's Lester being a fucking asshole, is what," He mumbled, "You know how he likes to creep us all out."

"Yeah but that was just too damn far, man," Gavin turned to look back at Elliott, her face serious as she looked over the map. "I mean she's a bloody 13 year old! That's just plain sick."

"Well, there's a _reason_ Trevor calls him Lester the Molester," Michael mumbled, his eyes unusually focused on inspecting his handcrafted bombs, "And it's not out of shits and giggles..."

Gavin furrowed for a second before his green eyes widened and his jaw dropped with a soft gasp. Then, he audibly gagged. "I'm gonna vom. I'm gonna vom!"

"Okay!" Geoff called out, "Boys, back here for a sec!"

The five men walked back over to the whiteboard and Geoff circled the first task in marker.

"Okay, boys," He announced, "First, we're gonna get some vans."

"Got 'em!" Ray chirped, holding up one foot to show off his checkerboard skate shoe. Elliott and Jack snickered while Michael just shook his head with an amused grin. Geoff pointed a finger at the guy in the purple hoodie in solidarity.

"Nice work, Ray." He looked back at the map. "Alright, now we are going to get some _real_ vans that we can take pics of. Lester's installed an app on each of our phones. We're gonna use it to target the select number of trucks and track them down. We'll split up into separate groups so we can cover more ground."

Gavin immediately perked up. "Team Lads vs. Gents!"

Geoff paused for a second before shrugged his shoulders, an amused smile on his mustached face. "...Alright, Lads and Gents."

The rest of the boys all nodded and whooped in agreement, and they split up into their respective teams as Geoff dismissed the meeting.

"Versus!" Jack chirped, heading over to his locker to grab his things. Elliot trailed behind him like a little duckling, watching with great curiosity as the Fake AH Crew got ready for a heist. The boys all seemed unusually relaxed. All of them laughed and joked, and tossed around casual conversation like they were doing anything else except committing a crime. The girl was in awe. The way they spoke to each other as they assembled weapons and strapped on body armor...How they smiled as they filled their duffel bags with zipties and explosives...

"Hey kid!" She heard Ryan call out. She turned around sharply and saw him sitting on the single locker room bench. She rushed over to him and stopped only a foot or so away from him, smiling and saluting as she stood in front him.

"Yes sir, Mr. Ryan sir. Whatcha need?"

His expression with her was firm. He didn't look happy or angry at her. He just looked...focused. Her smile slowly fell and her expression turned into one of concern. It quickly turned to surprise, however, when he suddenly reached in back of him and pulled up a black lunch pail. He held it out to her and she took it into her hands, staring down at it in confusion.

"Umm..." She titled her head at it. It was kinda heavy, but not too much. What a weird gift. "You...shouldn't have?"

The corner of his mouth quirked up. "It's not what you think it is. Open."

She undid the little metal clasps in the front and pushed the top open, her big eyes widening for a second before going normal again.

A single 9 millimeter handgun (Custom Colt M1911-A1 pistol to be exact), stored with a suppressor and two spare magazines inside, all resting on top of turquoise velvet lining. Her mouth immediately dropped, and she looked up at Ryan, completely at a loss for words. He looked at her with an expression that was both cold and firm, his lips pursed to a thin line as she swallowed hard and opened her mouth to speak. Before she could get a word in, Geoff put a hand on her shoulder and grabbed her attention.

"Alright, I need you to listen close, kid," He said firmly, his eyes full of determination, "Because what happens first in this heist soley depends on you..."

The task that Geoff had sent her on wasn't anywhere near as extravagant as he made it sound. She was supposed to ride with Ray and help him snap pictures of trucks highlighted on the Trackify app. Admittedly, the girl was skeptical at first after being in a car with Ryan, but she found that Ray was a much better driver. He was fast, sure, and he blasted his music, but he was way more careful, and occasionally asked if she was okay when they made a sharp turn or a risky move between switching lanes. They went to the left, then to the right, Elliott staring down at her 3DS closely as she tried to pinpoint just where the truck was. They took another left and sped down the street, Elliott watching as the red dot grew larger and drew closer to their location. She looked up into the street and pointed dead ahead.

"There," She chirped, pointing to the mustard-green truck up ahead. Ray briefly hit the brake and fell back a little before getting directly behind it. The 13 year old held up her 3DS and snapped a pic, immediately sending it to Lester.

Lester sent back a winkie face in response. The girl quickly shut her device and looked up, furrowing when she noticed they weren't going for the next truck, but to a Taco bell drive thru. Ray was sticking halfway out the window when he pulled up, a crackled, nasally voice asking for his order through the speaker.

"I'll have the taco 12 pack...10 of them Doritos locos tacos supreme, and 2 cool ranch," He looked back over at her, "You want anything?"

Elliot's eyebrows raised before she leaned over and looked at the menu. "Dollar loaded griller. Mild."

Ray nodded lightly in approval before turning back to the speaker. "Six loaded grillers, please. Mild."

Even though he couldn't see it, the girl looked over at him in surprise, her smile growing bigger behind his back.

Once they got their food, Ray pulled over to lot just outside of the park, the two of them eating and watching people as they walked by. The scent of spicy beef and the sound of crunching filled the car as they ate, Elliott finding it oddly peaceful as she watched a Rich blonde woman power walk by with her kid currently on a leash disguised as a monkey backpack with a tail. She wrinkled her nose at it, biting into her burrito and chewing slowly as the woman laughed on the phone while her child pulled her ahead.

"You nervous?" She heard Ray ask, his mouth half full with crunchy taco. The bushy-haired girl shook her head, stuffing her mouth with the remainder of her burrito.

"Ith gonna be eadee," She chirped before she started chewing. The man in the glasses scoffed and shoved the rest of his taco in his mouth before grabbing another one. Elliot looked at him the whole tiime, trying to picture him as the silent, psychotic terrorist killer everyone made him sound like. She couldn't see it. He was so calm, and so nice to her...

"You're a sniper, right?"

He unwrapped taco number two and dug in. "Yep."

"Is it hard?" She asked him.

"Hella."

"How many people have you killed?"

"213," He answered plainly.

"Were they all bad guys?"

He paused for a second, his eyes lowering to the dashboard before looking back out towards the park. "Some of 'em."

The girl looked down at her taco bell bag and pulled out another burrito. She pulled off the wrapper and bit in. "You're not as scary as the others make you out to be."

She watched as a bushy brow raised at her. "Hm?"

"I mean everyone's spreading rumors that you're this heartless terrorist guy," She swallowed a little and took another bite, "They say you're really mean and scary, but you aren't."

"Yeah? And why's that?" He asked.

She held up the bag in her hand, smiling a puffy-cheeked smile. "You bought me taco bell."

Ray's lips twisted to the side for a second before he leaned in, staring at her intently before poking her puffy cheek with his finger.

"Boop. _Nerd._ "

The two of them broke out into a muffled laugh and went back to eating, watching as people passed by in the park.

After finishing their meal (and making several funny Snapchats of Ray finishing his 12 burrito party pack) they finally got the text from Geoff to quit dicking around and get to playing backup on the street. After the other trucks had their pics taken, Lester had finally pinpointed their target. Jack and Michael went in and stole the truck, and they were currently trying to play it cool as they tried to avoid the cops.

"They've each got 1 star on their wanted level," Elliott announced, tapping on her 3DS to check everyone else's profile. Her and Ray were the only ones in the clear.

"Can you take it off?" Ray asked as they swerved into the right lane and sped through a red light.

She shook her head no. "I'm still working on it though. Tell them to just play it cool. It's starting to flash."

Ray swerved into the left lane and just barely scraped a mini van as he sped past, catching up to a Post-Op truck. The vehicle took a right and the back door briefly swung open, revealing Ryan sitting in back in his civilian clothes. His sandy blonde hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, and his face was dressed in his classic facepaint. He looked over to the brown sports car and saluted over to Ray before shutting the door. The girl still looked at the back of the truck in awe.

"I've never seen Ryan in light colors before," She noted, referring to his blue striped tank and khaki cargo shorts, "He looks funny."

"He looks like a fuckin' _dweeb_ is what," Ray muttered, earning a vibrant giggle from the girl next to him. It quickly faded once Lester's voice buzzed in their ears.

" _Looks like the van's clear,_ " He announced, " _Paige will be thrilled you're not bringing a bunch of over stimulated cops with you to the drop. Leave it under the bridge, and she'll help you with the transponder_."

Lester hung up on his end, which left the rest of the Fake AH Crew to converse with each other. All of them started talking at once, and immediately Elliott started laughing.

" _MAH MAH MAH MAH MAH!_ " Michael imitated in an overly-nasally sounding voice, "Creepy Bald-headed prick."

" _ERH MA MAH MAH_ ," Geoff imitated, "You know Lester kinda makes me think of--if like, the fat kid from 'Up' wasn't Asian, and things went  _really_ wrong."

The 13 year old started losing it, laughing harder and harder as the boys continued to joke and poke fun at Lester with each other. Gavin started laughing at Elliott's laugh, the sound almost as squeaky and high pitched as his was. Michael started laughing too. Jack and Geoff chuckled while Ryan just simply shook his head and leaned back in his seat, listening to the sounds of her giggle as it rolled through his eardrums like spinning top. He cracked a smile and shut his eyes. It was oddly relaxing, just sitting there hearing her laugh her head off.

"Stooop!" She squealed, giggling soonafter, "Stop it! You guys are making me laugh!"

"Alright guys, c'mon, focus! we're almost there!" Jack announced with the laugh still clear in his voice. The laughter quickly reduced to quiet chuckling as they pulled up to the bridge they were supposed to leave the truck under. As they pulled into the drop point, Ray hung back a few feet and put his car in park, watching from afar as the tail lights turned off and all of his friends spilled out from the back. Elliott giggled the entire time, going into a full on laugh after seeing them all in their attire they deemed "casual and inconspicuous". They all looked like a bunch of yuppie tourists—all of them wearing brightly-colored shirts, colorful shorts, and white socks with sandals.

"Oh my _god_ ," Ray muttered, the girl only laughing harder beside him. She was at the point where she was hysterical, yipping and laughing like a hyena as she gripped her stomach in pain. Ray just let it happen, paying no real attention as a pretty girl with freshly dyed black hair and tattoos came striding out from the building right across from the drop point. She had a sleeve of tattoos on one arm and an intricate henna pattern on the other. Her face was as striking as it was strict, her lips pursed to a thin line as she walked out and marched towards the truck. She didn't take time to greet the boys let alone acknowledge their existence. She just walked into the back of the truck and got out a large buck knife. Gavin, Michael, and Jack shifted uneasily in place. She cut out a tiny black box and tossed it over to Geoff.

"Give this to Lester's guy," She said plainly, straightening out her lightning bolt t-shirt before hopping off the truck. She knocked shoulders with Michael as she brushed past, the redhead muttering something under his breath that made Gavin go "shhh!" beside him.

* * *

 

Their next mission was to take the Transponder to Avi Scwartzman, a signal expert and full-time recluse hiding out in North Chumash. When Elliot checked out his criminal profile, she was surprised. Apparently he was the key to a lot of other crews' wealth and success. He sold his expertise to the highest bidder, almost making it to the billions before the police finally caught on. Both him and his money disappeared on the same day, and he's been living the nomadic lifestyle ever since.

Geoff suggested that everyone dressed in dark colors, but only Michael seemed to be the odd man out. He resorted to a much more casual white tank and tan pants, not giving a fuck if he spooked the guy or not when they rolled up to his place. As everyone grabbed their day packs that Lester had specially prepared, Gavin walked over to the scrawny 13 year old and briefly watched as she put on a black hoodie much too big for her. The act was kinda cute he thought, watching as she tried to pull up the sleeves that kept slipping and falling far past her fingers. He whistled quietly over to her to grab her attention. Once he got it, he walked forward and instructed her to raise her arms.

The girl raised her arms and shut her eyes as something firm, yet plushy was slipped onto her. When she opened her eyes, she looked down at Gavin as he worked at the straps on what could only be (to her, anyway) a gaudy black floatie vest.

"Don't ever take this off, okay?" He did the final strap before looking at her firmly in the eye. "I want you to stay close to Ray for this part."

She nodded without question, watching as he smiled a crooked smile before patting her padded shoulder. He picked up her day bag for her and slung it over his shoulder, tilting his head in Geoff's direction as the leader started exiting the Church. The rest of the crew followed after him out of the building and into the armored car that awaited them. Elliott had never seen something to sturdy and sleek looking. A neat 4-door Kuruma sports car with bulletproof tires and a black matte finish. This was a car perfect for a band of criminals.

"I call shotgun!" Gavin suddenly called out.

"Geoff gets shotgun, you ass!" Michael called back.

They all piled into the car as best as they could, packing in like sardines in a can. Gavin and Elliott were the lankiest, so they had to get in last and resort to sitting on a crew member's lap. Elliott sat on Ray's, and Gavin sat on Michael's. The brunette was being cheeky about it the whole time, and didn't stop until Ryan suddenly stopped the car and the poor man smacked his head onto the seat in front of him. Michael let out a hard laugh, Gavin whimpering that it wasn't that funny as he rubbed his forehead. Six other bodies in the car disagreed. They also disagreed on Ryan being the best driver in the crew. The man was everywhere, swerving left and right, braking randomly, running into stop signs and traffic lights. He drifted at every turn, causing his fellow crew members to either fall forward or knock into each other.

" _Jesus_ Ryan!" Jack laughed, holding his hands out to brace himself as they smacked into another oncoming SUV. Elliott went forward a little, but Ray held onto her tight and pulled her back in. Her eyes were the size of tennis balls, watching as sparks flew and glass broke and civilians outside screamed bloody murder. It was amazing, to say the least. They hadn't even started the heist yet and already they brought on chaos. They really did cause destruction wherever they went.

Her big eyes looked over to Geoff as he turned in his seat to look at her. "If you haven't noticed already, Ryan's a _fantastic_ driver!"

"Hey!" Ryan chirped out, sounding clearly offended, "It handles a little rough, alright!"

"Sure," Michael said with an airy laugh.

Ryan pouted from the driver's seat. "It's been a while since I drove the armored car," He huffed.

Before the small girl could get a word in, a familiar filtered voice crackled through her earpiece. She listened in closely, focusing past Ryan's chaotic driving and everyone's amused chattering. Despite them all having ear-pieces, they didn't even bother to acknowledge Lester and what he was spouting.

" _So his guy's meeting you off the Western Highway just before Paleto Bay,_ " She heard him announce.

Ryan smacked into another car, but instead of stopping, he rolled right over it with only a little hassle. The girl plugged her other ear as the crash victim's honking grew loud and manic, finally fading as they sped further down the road.

" _You got any friends who, like, totally overreact when you say something?"_ He asked randomly, _"Well, my friend Avi's kinda like that. A few years ago, I told him there was a warrant out on him and he goes full hermit – like stealing food from trashcans, talking to the trees, jerking it with the squirrels type hermit. I mean, I know guys that go into hiding and don't even change their golf club! The cops are not that smart! Or motivated!"_

He let out a wheezing laugh before pausing. _"...Where were we? Oh yeah. Schwartzmann. He's reluctantly agreed to help us tune into the Pacific Standard frequency. So, give him the transponder, let him do his thing, then give it to Paige. I've packed silenced pistols and sniper rifles in your day packs just in case."_

They were only a half-mile or so away before Lester's nasally voice sounded in their ears again.

" _Okay, ah, slight change of plans,"_ He said slowly. The boys finally stopped their conversation, their expressions turning hard as they listened closely. _"So...It would appear that some of Avi's paranoia might have been somewhat justified...Our uh, our call got picked up, they came after him, and he ran. Now he's holed up on some small island off the coast, surrounded by about 20 government agents—"_

"Aw, what?!" Michael barked.

"Are you bloody serious?!" Gavin spoke out, "20 government agents! No!"

Geoff sighed. "Gavin—"

"No! No way! We should just do this without him!" He threw a hand over in Elliott's direction, "We got her here now! You can do this, can't you?"

Everyone's eyes were on her now. The scrawny tween's eyes went wide again, and suddenly she had forgotten everything she knew about computers and security systems. "I-I...I..."

"Gav just fuck off, you're freaking her out!" Ray butted in, his hold on the kid becoming more and more protective. The two boys began to argue with each other, and soon after everyone's voice filled the car. It was nothing but yelling and swearing, and arguments that went in circles. Elliott closed her eyes and covered her ears, wincing as Lester suddenly shouted into her earpiece.

 _"Hey!"_ His voice barked over their bickering. The boys went quiet again. " _Look, as much as I'd love to hang him out to dry,_ _he's our only shot at this..and, well, it's...kinda our fault, so..."_

He let out an uneasy chuckle before clearing his throat.

_"So, i'm sending you to a rental place on Ineseno Road. Pick up some Seasharks and get out to the island."_

And that was that. He hung up, and Ryan suddenly jerked the car to the right, slamming into a chain-link fence and running it down. His little detour took them over the beach where their seasharks were apparently waiting for them on the water. Ryan took no time to barrel down the beach, only stopping once the body of a yuppie beach goer smacked against his windshield. Elliott jumped in her seat with a scream and watched with wide eyes as the body rolled off the hood and hit the ground with a thud. Other witnesses around the sand started screaming in horror.

"Look! Beach people!" Ryan chirped, his smile growing insanely wide. The others in the car sighing and shaking their heads as they started to get out. Jack opened up the door on his side and slid out, shaking his head as Ryan giggled from the front seat in amusement. The others in the car said his name with a sigh like an exhausted parent dealing with a reckless child.

"Alright, c'mon Ryan," Michael sighed, keeping his back to his seat as Gavin slid off of him and got out of the car.

"Yeah, don't be a prick this time," He said firmly. He quickly walked around the car and opened the other passenger door, helping Elliott off of Ray's lap. Ryan opened up his door and got out, taking his duffel bag with him and opening it up. The big smile was still clear on his face, his entire demeanor changing as he dug out a bottle of vodka and a rag.

"No waitwaitwait—"

"No, fuck you," Jack bit. He opened up the trunk and started handing out everyone's bag. Elliott took her duffel with a small thank you, and looked over at Ryan as he flicked on his lighter and set fire to the molotov cocktail he had just made. There was a man still napping in a beach chair only a few feet ahead of him, and Ryan's eyes were deadlocked onto him. Gavin's jaw dropped in shock while Ray just rolled his eyes.

"Oh Jesus," He mumbled, throwing his arms up for a second, "He's gonna do it. Ryan!"

"He's napping! Don't bother him!" Jack hissed out, "Rya—!"

Too late. Ryan slammed the bottle towards the sleeping man's feet, and a mix of liquid and fire splattered out everywhere. The 13 year old watched in awe as the fire spread and clung to the man's body, everyone around her either screaming and running away, or standing there like the crew was, shaking their heads in disapproval while the dirty blonde laughed a childish laugh.

"Aw, Ryan," Jack sighed.

" _Jesus_ Ryan," Gavin mumbled.

"You're sick, you know that? Real fuckin' sick," Michael turned around, pulling his gun out and aiming it at the back of a witness running for her life. He fired a single shot and she went face down into the sand.

This only made Ryan laugh harder, bringing him to the verge of tears as he gripped his stomach. Elliot stood there and watched as the others in the crew picked off the witnesses around the beach. It wasn't until she felt a hand grab hers and pull her towards the ocean that she snapped out it. When she looked up, she saw her father's cheshire smile beaming down at her, his large hand in hers as he pulled her towards the cascading waves.

"Come on, kiddo!" He chirped, "The water's great!"

She rubbed her eyes with her freehand an looked back up, Ray looking back at her as he pointed to the red Seashark vehicle floating in the water.

"C'mon! We gotta go!"

She swallowed hard and followed Ray into the water, immediately screaming when the frigid cold waves hit her body. She heard Gavin mimicking the same cry behind her, followed by a loud "GAAAH IT'S COLD!" followed by Michael barking for him to suck it up. The 13 year old doggie paddled her way towards the cherry red Seashark, the taste of saltwater strong in her mouth as she juggled shivering and swimming properly against the freezing cold water. When she finally approached the Shark, Ray was courteous enough to help her get on first. He clambored on after and waited there for a second as the other guys got on their Seasharks and started them up. He watched as Gavin whizzed around and Geoff got himself situated, freezing up for a brief second as he felt a pair of bony arms around his waist. He could feel her head resting on his back, the rest of her shivering violently in the backseat as he turned on the ignition.

"Don't worry!" He called over the sounds of everyone's vehicles, "We'll be there soon!"

He felt her nod lightly and peep a loud "okay!" over the sounds of Gavin's cries as he tried to properly man his vehicle. He revved the engine a few times and signaled over to Geoff before speeding ahead.

The ride was as long as it was cold and wet. She couldn't stand how the wind whipped against her soaking wet clothes, making her shiver harder against Ray's back. She tried to think of anything else other than being cold. She thought of blankets, of warm cider, of fire. She thought about the flames, and how hot it must have been against that innocent man's skin. She thought about Ryan's laugh and the look in his eyes as chaos went off around him. She thought about Geoff's warning, and how it may have been partially about the crew as a whole, but was most definitely about Ryan.

" _You're gonna see a lot of messed up shit, kid..."_

Her grip around Ray's waist grew tighter as the image of the burning body kept replaying over and over in her head. She tried to push it back, but no matter how hard she tried, she could still see the flames. She saw them so vividly, that the light from the fire started flashing behind her eyelids.

When she opened them back up, she saw a colorful ball of fire whizz past and almost smack into Geoff in the water. The man swerved to the right and then to the left after almost running into her and Ray. The leader glared daggers over at Ryan as he sped past with a flare gun in his hand, the man in the skull masked laughing a manic laugh.

"RYAN! JESUS!" Michael barked through her earpiece.

Ryan's childish laugh rung through their ears as he fired more rounds in the air. He then turned his arm back and fired one at Gavin. The man let out a pitched noise and veered to the right, almost smacking into Jack as he just barely missed flare.

"Ryan you bloody lunatic!" Gavin squawked.

"What?! I'm not doing anything!" The masked man laughed.

"Someone take the fucking thing away from him!" Geoff instructed. This only made Ryan laugh harder. He fired another flare in the air, and all the boys continued to yell and scream at him over the sounds of the roaring waves and the rumbling engines of their Seasharks. Elliott couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. She shouldn't have expected this to go as stealthy as she thought it would. This was the Fake AH Crew after all. They had no regards for subtlety, or sneaking up on the enemy. It was always guns blazing.

Or rather in Ryan's case, a flare gun.

He fired one more shot in the air before finally putting it away for good. And although none of them could see it, they were sure he was sporting a smuggish, shit-eating grin under his mask. He chuckled here and there as the others voiced their disapproval at him. He was a like a mischievous child getting scolded, none of it really sunk in for him. He only apologized lightly and just barely promised that he wouldn't do it again. The others just sighed and went back to focusing on the mission. They were nearing the Island now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello babies! Thank you guys for the nice comments so far.  
> I got a quick question though: do the chapters feel too long?  
> Because I typed this story all in one flipping document and I don't know when or where to break it up lol.  
> Let me know, yeah? Love you! xx


	6. Avi, Get In!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the Heist setup has kicked off.

Helicopters were already looming overhead when they reached the coastline. They could see tons of dark figures running around on land, all of them shouting demands to each other as they prepared for the Crew's arrival. The six men all pulled up to the shoreline and began slowly riding alongside it, trying to look for a place to get situated.

“How the _fuck_ do we get up there?!” Michael barked, clearly frustrated as he continued to float along. The edge of the island plateaued a little higher than he could climb, and there was no bank of sand to ease into in sight. Ray brought his seashark around to a small shoreline where a single motor boat was already anchored and facing outward.

It appears their target was ready for things to head south.

“Careful boys,” Geoff muttered through his earpiece.

“Yeah, there's a _lotta_ fuckers up there,” Michael warned.

“Jack and I found a way up, we're going in,” Gavin announced.

Geoff gave a firm nod as he turned off his Seashark and started climbing his way onto the island.

“Alright, Crazy Mad, you're gonna act as cover fire for team Trial & Error,” He said firmly as he took cover behind a couple of boulders. He set down his duffle bag and started getting to work, pulling out an automatic rifle and cocking it, “I'll come in and clean up the leftovers. We do this quickly and we get the guy outta there, alright?!”

“ _Right,_ ” the rest of his boys said in unison. Elliott simply nodded and yelped a little as Ray pulled up alongside the empty boat.

“Alright, in,” He said plainly. The girl didn't argue. She unwrapped her arms from around his waist and reached over onto the boat's edge, carefully climbing her way up and over. The boat was actually kind of lush. Leather seats, clean flooring, and the latest GPS system complete with a touch screen installed by the steering wheel. She turned around to help Ray on board, but he sped off into the dark within a blink of an eye. Her mouth dropped with a “What the-?!” that was cut short as the sharp sound of a bullet cracked in the air. She stood frozen for a second, her eyes wide and her breathing halted as there was a period of dead silence.

She stood there in the dark, and listened closely. No one said a word in her ear piece, and no one made a sound outside.

There was waves, sea gulls, the boat creaking...

Then an explosive _BOOM!_

The sound made her jump and clamp her hands over her mouth. She screamed into her palms. The sound of bullets pattering and men shouting rang through the air. Another explosion went off, and fire briefly spurted from a spot on the island before disappearing. She could hear men screaming and bullets flying, but she could barely see a thing! She could only make out the dimmed, darkened silhouettes running around, and the occasional flicker that erupted from their guns as they fired rapidly at each other. Elliott shook her head and screwed her eyes shut, realizing right away that this was may have been just a little—well, _way_ over her head.

3 more explosives went off at once, and Elliott nearly jumped out of her skin. The red flags in her head kicked in and told her right away what her next move should be.

“Nope!,” She let out, booking it towards the edge and carefully climbing her way over, “Nope nope nope nope—”

“Kid, _stay in the boat_ ,” Geoff's voice crackled in her ear. Elliott stopped in place, her eyes wide and her brows knitted together. He sounded so calm. How could he be so calm while being shot at?!

“Contact Lester,” He instructed further, “Get the GPS going and prepare a way-point.”

“...Okay,” She said, turning around and walking over to the screen. “Okay, okay okay,”

She plugged her 3DS into the USB port and slipped on her goggles, taking a deep breath before turning it on and starting up the program. She dove in the world of numbers and code, mixing and matching as she tried to find the right skip.

“Michael, check the map on your iWatch,” She instructed firmly, “It should pinpoint where the cops are on the island.”

“Got it,” Michael spoke, shortly after gunning down someone to his right. “It works. Thanks kid.”

“LLLLET'S PLAY!” She heard Ray suddenly shout out, another grenade going off on the island right after.

“Ray! Jesus!” Gavin let out.

“That wasn't me, that was Ryan!”

“Ryan! Jesus!”

“What?!”

“I'm almost out of armor already,” Jack quipped, taking cover behind some large rocks as he set down his bag and switched out his bullet strife vest for a new one. Just then, he looked up towards the sky as something came flying over his head. A rock zipped through the air and smacked straight into the police hellicopter, making it burst open and explode like a 4th of July firework.

“One helicopter down,” Ryan chirped simply as he reloaded his missile launcher.

“Oh fuck!” Ray screamed as he jumped out of the way of some flaming debris landing right beside him.

“Ryan!!” Michael barked. The redhead jumped and ducked as another helicopter got it's tail blown off above him. The heaping remains came plummeting down onto the ground before exploding into a firey mess.

Ryan smiled in genuine satisfaction before tossing his launcher aside. “Two Helicopters down. I'm so proud.”

Geoff merely shook his head and held his gun forward, aiming carefully at an unsuspecting cop's head before firing. The guy's head exploded like a melon. One by one he gunned the enemy cops down before his clip finally ran out. The second it did he tossed it aside and dug through his bag for his grenade launcher. Michael ran up behind him and ducked down low behind the rocks. He greeted the kingpin with a casual “Hey Geoff.” before standing up and shooting a cop square in the chest. Right as he ducked back down Geoff stood up and fired over at the motor scooter parked by a small group of cops. After a few seconds and only a couple rounds to the gas tank the whole thing exploded and caused the group of men to go flying. Ryan let out a genuine laugh of amusement at the whole thing.

“That was amazing!!” He yelled.

“It's not over yet!” Elliot's voice buzzed in their earpieces, “There's still one guy left! Over by the shed!”

“Got him,” Geoff spoke as he fired another grenade. The area where the cop was exploded and yet another body went flying. The second it was clear, Jack bolted forward and made a beeline for the shed. Lester's voice crackled over the speaker.

“ _Are we clear? Get the hermit out of his hut and go!_ ”

“Alright! Jesus!” Jack bit as he turned on his side and slammed into the wood door. As soon as he busted into the shed, a man lurking by the window stumbled over screaming “no! No! No!” with his hands up. Jack only smiled brightly and chirped a cheery “Hello!”

Avi Schwartzmann wore his paranoia out there in the open—with eyes as wild as his bed hair and wearing a stained pink hawaiian shirt and ratty board shorts. He looked like an absolute nutjob. Of course he would be playing hermit on this shithole of an island.

“Never should have stuck my head out,” Avi grit as he got up off the dirt floor. Quickly he made his way out of the shed, but not before waggling a finger in Jack's direction. “Don't answer the phone to Lester Crest!”

“Yeah yeah, let's get a move on, dickhead!” Michael grabbed Avi by the arm and started dragging him along. “X-Ray and Vav, you at the boat?!”

“I'm ready and waiting, boi,” Gavin chirped through his earpiece.

“Gay,” Ray muttered.

“Shut up ray,” Michael bit, trying to hide the chuckle in his voice, “We got the package! We're bringing him now!”

“A 2-star wanted level's been activated,” Elliott announced, “Police ETA is 5 minutes!”

Geoff, Michael, Jack, and Ryan hurried over to the boat with Avi in tow. As everyone clambored their way in, Ray pulled Elliott futher into the helm so she could have cover under the hard top. Avi hurried up to the wheel and stood along side Jack as he stepped forward to drive. The rest of the guys took a seat on the deck, Gavin and Michael the only ones standing with the guns aimed at the skies.

“Alright! Everyone in?!” Jack asked.

“In!” Everyone responded. Jack nodded firmly and started driving the boat forward.

Elliott huddled in the corner, keeping her eyes glued to her DS as she watched their progress on the map. She tried to ignore how the boat rocked and bobbed up and down against the waves. She tried to ignore the loud popping of gunfire and the sounds of explosives. She only paid attention to the map. Not the cold air that whipped against her. Not the joyous sounds Ryan was making as he fired another rocket at an LSPD helicopter.

“Bye bye!” He chirped out, pulling the trigger on his launcher and watching as it smacked into the copter above him.

“Booosh!” Michael laughed. Elliott and the four men watched as smoldering debris started raining down from the sky and splashed into the dark ocean waves. She was in such awe at the display she almost missed the message buzzing in her ears from Lester.

' _You gotta drop the heat before you meet Paige,_ ” He announced, “ _Waypoint's been set. You have 3 minutes._ ”

Elliott looked down at her map as they were approaching the closest point on shore. The crew's wanted level had bumped up to 3 stars, and cops were already headed their way on the roads.

“We have to get off here!” She yelled over the sounds of gunfire and the boats thrumming engine. Jack pulled the boat to the right a bit and slowed down, his jaw dropping at the helicopters occupying the skies and the cars occupying the streets.

“Holy _shit_ ,” He said slowly.

“Chopper's gonna get us!” Gavin grit, aiming his rifle at the helicopter almost right on top of them.

Jack's grip on the steering wheel grew tight and he leaned forward. “Alright I'm gonna take a shortcut onto the road.”

“Just go up the river!” Ryan protested. Jack turned the wheel a hard left and drove the boat right into the shore. Eliott gripped onto Ray's arm tight as they hit sand and started skidding across. Geoff leaned his head out a little and pointed forward towards the parking lot outside an Alamo Fruit Market.

“There's cars right here! Everyone out!“

As soon as they slid to a stop they all clamored off the boat and scattered towards the parking lot. Elliot's heart started thumping rapidly behind her chest as helicopters pattered overhead and sirens started blaring in her ears. Gavin took her by the hand and pulled her towards the red four-door closest to them. Ray slammed the butt of his rifle through the driver's side window and reached in, unlocking the doors and getting in. Elliot scrambled her way into the backseat and ducked down, covering her head as bullets popped and panged against the car and shattered the window next to her.

“Ray! We gotta get out of here!” Gavin yelped as he started firing out the window.  
“I know! I know!” Ray bit, twisting and tying wires together before the car finally roared to life. He put the car in reverse and slammed his foot down on the accelerator, skidding around and peeling his way out of the chaotic mess of cop cars that were piling up and trying to box them in. While Elliott was busy keeping close track on their wanted levels, voices began shouting all at once in her headset and she winced as their volume started to increase.

“Everyone just fucking haul ass!” Geoff barked.

“Oh god oh god oh god!” Gavin yelped.

“Quit screwing around! Come on!”

“We need to lose our wanted levels!”

“Whose got the dude?!”

“Jack does!”

“Wanted levels are flashing! Just stay out of the cops' radar!”

“Easier said than done kid!”

“Alright! My wanted level's gone!” Jack yelled, “I'm heading to Paige's!”

“We got a minute and six seconds!” Elliott yelped as the car took a hard right and swerved.

“Go go go go go!” Geoff bit through her earpiece.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck,” Michael grit.

“Hang on!” Ray yelled out, taking a hard left before slamming on the accelerator and barreling towards Paige's house. Elliott gripped onto the backseat for dear life as they smashed through fences and plowed over ditches before making it up the large hill.

The small girl failed to stop herself from smacking her head against Gavin's seat as Ray slammed his foot on the brake. She let out a loud swear followed by an “ow!” and rubbed her nose. Ray apologized quickly while Gavin hurried to reload his weapon. The man in the black beanie quickly opened his side of the door and started to get out, but not before turning in his seat to look back at Elliott. “Stay in the car while we drop off the dude,”

The girl's jaw immediately dropped and she started to protest. “Aw, what?! But I wan—”

“Just stay!” Gavin bit as he started getting out of the car. The preteen grunted and folded her arms as she reluctantly did what they said. As soon as the front doors slammed shut she lifted her head and looked up from behind the seat. She watched as the mean woman from earlier came walking out from the seemingly abandoned warehouse. Geoff and his crew brought Avi up to her by the arms and pushed him over to her. The guy was as spineless as they came, and it showed a great deal as he practically cowered at Paige's feet.

“A-Are you a cop?!” The guy asked. The question made everyone around him frown in confusion, including Paige.

“I'm not a cop, I'm helping Lester,” She remarked quickly, “Have you done it?”

“Done what?!” Avi yelped.

“Has he done it?” She asked Geoff. The kingpin held up the transponder and handed it over to Avi. The paranoid man took the small device and tinkered at it for a few seconds before swallowing hard.

“I-I-I don't have the er, Pacific Standard frequency here,” He said sheepishly, “I don't have any of my tools.”

The tattooed woman put her hands on her hips and sighed, clearly annoyed with him already. “Ain't that fuckin' convenient. I've got some tools, come on.”

She took his arm and pulled him along towards the inside of her workshop. Before shoving Avi inside she looked back over at Geoff and the rest of his crew.

“Lester will meet you back at your place!” She announced, sounding anything but friendly, “And don't worry, the transponder will be ready for the job!”


	7. Pacific Standard Job! (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliott's first heist is on, kids! And boy is it a doozy.

After leaving Avi off at Paige's, the rest of the crew drove back to the city towards Geoff's apartment. The car ride was silent for the most part. Elliott was busy looking out the window, her eyelids heavy and her mind racing with thoughts about what happened today. She saw a lot of messed up stuff, sure. But it was no more messed up than seeing someone you cared about gunned down in cold blood. She had seen stuff like that all the time in Los Santos.

The young tween took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh, her eyes fluttering shut as the rumble of the engine and the quiet sounds of Gavin and Ray's conversation lulled her to sleep. When she opened them up again Ray was pulling up to Geoff's place and parked alongside where his own car was waiting. Gavin turned around in his seat and looked over at the tiny teen in the back. He had a light yet crooked smile on his face.

“You did good today, by the way.”

Elliott rubbed her eyes for a second and blinked before flashing him a thankful smile. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” He held out a fist and bumped it against Ray's, “See ya X-ray.”

The man in the purple hoodie gave him a solid “See ya Vav”. The second the brit left the car, Ray turned around in his seat and looked back at Elliott.

“...Hey,” He chirped.

The girl looked up from her DS and smiled at him. “Hi.”

His lips twisted to the side for a second before he spoke up again. “...You like anime?”

She tilted her head at him for a second before smiling wider and nodding.

After a whole night with no sleep, the two of them spent the morning watching Pokemon, and the afternoon binge watching every episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Sailor Moon. Well into the later hours of the night, they ended up laying on their stomachs in a bed of Domino's pizza boxes and cans of Mountain Dew Code Red. When Michael entered the apartment with a bag of groceries, he found them in the family room staring wide-eyed at the T.V. Screen, neither of them blinking as the Sailor Senshi vanquished another enemy.

The curly haired redhead stepped inside and briefly plugged his nose with his free hand. The scent of sweat, old pizza and dirty laundry was ripe in the air.

“Jesus _Christ_ Ray, it fuckin' reeks in here!” He walked over to the kitchen table and set down the bags. But not before shoving the stack of old Chinese food boxes away to clear a space. “Do you know how to _use_ a fucking mop?!”

“Racist,” Ray quipped, holding a fist out as Elliott bumped it.

“You guys look like shit, too,” Michael remarked. They looked like absolute wrecks. Both of their white tanks were stained with pizza sauce and mountain dew, among other things. Neither of them had pants on (instead they both were proudly sporting a pair of Ray's boxers), both of them smelled rancid, and Elliott's hair looked worse than the apartment.

She looked up at Michael and smiled a lazy smile, her entire body swaying from side to side. “Hiiii...salad...”

Michael paused for a second before frowning at her. “What?!”

“I said, it's all salad...owl...night bed niblets...” She mumbled, her eyes drooping more and more by the second. Ray chuckled randomly and went on to mumbling something about masks. Michael just sighed and put a bunch of groceries away in the fridge. The minute he finished, he walked over and picked up Elliott off the floor, the girl instantly wrapping her spindly limbs around him as she rested her head on his shoulder. He carried her over to Ray's room and set her down on the bed, not even really thinking about it as he tucked her in and left Ray's stuffed ocelot toy by her side. She immediately started shifting around and snuggled further into the sheets, letting out a big sigh as she drifted off to sleep. When he came back out to the living room Ray was trying to light a joint with his shaking hands, his eyes still glued to the TV screen as he watched Sailor Moon use Cutie Moon Rod to vanquish another enemy.

“I want that,” He said between his lips, pointing to the weapon Sailor Moon was wielding. Michael sighed and walked over to him, kicking pizza boxes and empty cans aside along the way. He swiped the remote and shut off the TV. Ray still looked at the black screen with wide eyes. He didn't even blink once. The redhead knelt down and tapped the guy across the face a little, finally getting him to twitch before blinking again.

“There you are,” He mused, picking Ray up off the floor and guiding him back to bed, “C'mon, dude. You need to sleep.”

“I don't sleep, I _wait_ ,” Ray remarked, a lazy grin on his face as he staggered over to his bedroom. Michael led him over to the other side of the mattress and the guy immediately plopped face down into the pillows. Elliott stirred peacefully beside him, snuggling up against his frame as Michael weaved his way around piles of clothes and discarded food wrappers. He put away the rest of the groceries in Ray's fridge and left the receipt on the table before crashing on the couch. Tomorrow was part 2 of the heist setup. He was going to need as much sleep as possible.

* * *

Elliott, Michael, and Ray walked into Geoff's with drinks and breakfast sandwiches at hand. As soon as Ray knocked, Ryan answered the door and ushered them over to Church. The others were already inside waiting for them. Lester was pacing back and forth in front of the whiteboard, looking and acting unusually peppy as the crew finally came together and gathered around him. Elliott's nose wrinkled as the guy walked past and a strong, sour smell hit her nostrils. He smelled like he had gotten sprayed by a skunk.

“You're doing good, guys,” He pointed back over to the whiteboard, “Just, er, three more tasks to perform, and we should be good to go.”

He looked back over at the crew.

“First, we're going to need some hacking equipment,” He remarked, “The kind that nobody makes, and the sets that are in existence are all traced. So, we'll need to rob it from someone who won't mention that it's gone missing.”

“And who do you suppose we do that to?” Gavin asked. Lester only scoffed lightly.

“You're not the only crew I lend my services to,” He assured, pointing to a picture of another crew's logo pinned up on the board, “I know for a fact that FakeHaus has what we need.”

Elliott watched in confusion as all the boys groaned and threw up their hands.

“You gotta be shitting me,” Michael grunted.

“You serious right now?” Gavin looked over at his boss and tossed a hand in Lester's direction. “Geoff, is he havin' a laugh?”

“Look, these guys, they've set up a warehouse, behind Vinewood Boulevard.” Lester continued over their protests, “Maybe...Maybe they're getting the same ideas we are. Now I recommend you get the same van they have and switch out the equipment. And that way, when you make the run, they'll be chasing after their own van, and then one of you can get away clean with the equipment.”

As Lester continued to explain the tools they would need for the small heist, Elliott reached over and gently tugged on Ray's sleeve.

“Who's FakeHaus?” She asked quietly. Ray shrugged at her.

“Just some crew,” He answered, clearly getting tense at the thought of them, “They talk alotta shit and think they're better than us.”

The 13 year old frowned a little. Was that it? Crews always talked bad about each other, all the time. What made this one so special? Seeing all of the guys clench their jaws and look really annoyed...There had to be more to it than that.

After Lester left Church, Elliott and the crew got right to work assembling their outfits and their go-bags. They tried on everything from leather jackets to bandannas and sunglasses. The guys were done in no time flat, but Elliott was still having some trouble. All the jackets were much too big on her and the hats could barely go over her afro.

“Fucking pick your shit and ready up!” Michael yelled from the doorway.

“Let's go!” Ryan bit.

Geoff stood beside her and helped loosen the baseball cap on her head. “Dude you can't heist in a bad outfit!”

“God, you also don't need to take 30 fucking minutes!” Michael bit.

“There's no time limit or price on fashion,” He assured, helping Elliott adjust the cap before patting her on the head. “You look fine like this, kid.”

Elliott looked up at him and pouted a little. "Don't I get a cool outfit like you guys?”

"Not for this next part," The kingpin said as he smirked lightly. “I want you to stay here and prep. Once we get the device, the next job's gonna depend on you. ”

* * *

The lines at the Pacific Standard Bank were the worst. Elliott had waited in lines for rides at the Del Perro Pier before, and they went way faster. She was tasked to wait in line to talk to the teller and take out 80 dollars from one of Geoff's accounts. Simple enough, she thought. Hell, she could have done that from the comfort of her own room back in the Shelter. But again, she had to remind herself that this was a heist. A fast paced, heart racing, adrenaline pumping act where everything was done in person. It made everything seem more personal, more intimate with your victim. That's how Ryan explained it, anyway.

So, she waited in line at the bank, impatiently tapping her foot on the polished marble floor while the 4 other bodies in front of her made an ass out of themselves as they tried to hurry the person in front. From what she could hear, the man in front was desperately trying to get a loan to keep his shop and his family afloat. The teller kindly refused him, saying there was nothing she could do on her end. Which was the truth. The guy who handles all that doesn't come in on Thursdays, so he would have to come back Tomorrow. As the man continued to plead, the four other bodies behind him tapped their foots and variously cussed under their breaths about the lower-class. Although, the 13 year old was much too focused on her 3DS to really pay attention. Copying down their account numbers was much more amusing. The four of them had plenty of money to spare, she figured. There was no reason they couldn't do a little charity work.

She smiled mischievously as she shuffled the numbers around, taking out a measly 2 million and putting it with the man with the shop. That should take him out of the lower-class for a bit.

The man with the shop left the line with his head hung with defeat, and the next person in line stepped up, letting out an audible “Finally!” before getting to his business. The line started moving a lot smoother as the others started walking up to the other tellers, each of them taking care of their business as Elliott waited to be up next. She had just pulled up the home screen on her DS when the front doors behind her suddenly burst open, and four masked figures came running through with rifles pointed high in the air.

“Everybody get down!!!” A familiar voice roared. A short burst of bullets popped off and hit the ceiling, the noise making everyone in the building scream in horror. Elliot's own stomach twisted and shook as she and the other patrons immediately hit the floor. She wasn't fearful for her life like everyone else. In fact, it was quite the opposite. This was all so exciting, witnessing a heist go down first hand. The four that maneuvered around the crowd were all dressed in nice suits, expensive looking gloves, and puppet-style masks. She could tell by their varied figures alone just who it was that was in the room with her. Michael was on point, keeping his gun lowered onto the heads of the innocents—that kept them planted to the floor. He ignored their muffled wines and shaking pleas, and instead fired off a shot or two only a foot or so away from them if they got too vocal. Geoff was the one doing crowd control behind the teller's booths, Jack and Ryan quickly running up to the teller's gate that lead to the vaults. Elliot slowly looked up from the marble flooring and watched as Ryan knelt down at the gate, setting up a thermal charge before a pair of black old skool vans stepped in front of her.

“You! Kid!” A familiar voice barked out. Elliot looked up at the barrel of an automatic rifle, her head tilting a little to the side to see Michael as the one holding it.

“Get up.” He demanded, his voice lowered to a growl. She swallowed hard and looked up at him with wide eyes, not moving a muscle as she remained frozen in feigned terror. A couple seconds passed before Michael moved, the man growling in impatience as he moved on her.

“I said get the fuck up!!” He barked again, reaching down to grab her bony arm before yanking her to her feet. A couple people around the room cried for her to be let go, to be spared, but their cries melded to full blown screams as Michael fired several shots in the air.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” He screamed out, firing a single shot in the air quickly after. Elliott flinched, screwing her eyes shut as the sound rattled her eardrum worse than his yelling. “COMPLAIN AGAIN AND I'LL BLOW HER FUCKING BRAINS OUT, YA HEAR ME?!”

Everyone shut up at an instant, Elliot whimpering and shaking as she kept her lips pursed shut. Michael slung an arm around her and held her tightly, dragging her along towards the door as the thermal charge hissed and sparked, engulfing them in a small cloud of orange smoke before the door finally fell open. Elliot squirmed and screamed for someone to help her as she was dragged into the yellow-orange haze, her cries being cut short by a series of little coughs. She continued to struggle against Michael's strength, the man gripping her tightly as she continued to fight and flail around like a fish caught on a hook.

Right as they passed the second gate, a security guard ran into the room with a gun, yelling for the men to let the little girl go. Ryan gunned him down before he could finish his sentence. More and more security guards pooled in from all over, and one by one they were picked off like flies. The 13 year old watched as Ryan littered various bodies with bullet holes, some even long after they were dead. He was immune to their loud demands and their pleading cries. Instead, he put them all out of their misery, never even giving them a chance to beg or say their piece. He just left them all bloody and full of bullets. She screwed her eyes shut. Round after round ringing in the air, her mother's screaming flooding her ears. She swallowed hard and shook her head, opening them to watch as Ryan smacked a guard in the head with the butt of his rifle. The man in uniform toppled over and collapsed onto the stairs with a loud thud, disappearing over the stairwell as she was dragged over to the second gate. Once it was clear (for however long that would be) Michael gave her a violent shove forward and turned around sharply, watching their six as she rushed forward and made her way down the steps to the lower level.

“ _Hacker, you're up,_ ” Lester's nasally voice buzzed in her earpiece, “ _We've repackaged that other crew's hardware. Plug it into the access panel and get into the bank's network._ ”

“Got it.” She said firmly, slipping on her goggles before she got out her 3DS. She pulled out the wire from her console and plugged it into bank's access panel. She then grabbed the second and plugged it into the wire jack on the side of her goggles, switching the device on before her vision was clouded with data. She tried to push past the muffled sounds of screaming and gunshots and focused on her mission, diving into the bank's network as she looked for the vault's access codes.

While she scrolled through the data, she suddenly jumped at the sound of shooting going off behind her.

“Another fuckin' hero over here!” Jack yelled out. She heard the sound of another body hitting the floor. She swallowed hard, still surfing through the data before finally finding what she was looking for.

///BXCAN467910KD3592148OOXV193R///

The letters began switching and scrambling within seconds of each other, never staying the same line of code twice. Security through obscurity, she thought to herself. Clever. A smirk slowly stretched across her lips and she tapped away at the buttons on her device.

“Clever, but easy. Toooo easy,” She hummed out. She entered the last of the unscrambling code and watched as the letters and numbers switched around before becoming legible.

**///B A C K D O O R////**

She heard a loud buzz before the large vault door beside her slowly started opening up. Ryan turned to face it before running right through. He immediately started getting to work on the final titanium gate that seperated them from the money. He prepped another thermal charge and stuck it on the door, stepping back as it sparked and started melting through the lock. Elliott wrinkled her nose as the smell of burnt metal grew strong in the air. It made her cough, and the orange smoke that started filling the air made her eyes water. She didn't have much time to dwell on it, though. Once the door was open, Jack shoved past her and ran deep into vault after Ryan.

“Stay here!” He yelled before disappearing behind the corner, “And shoot anyone who comes down here that isn't one of ours!”

Elliot lifted her goggles up off her eyes and furrowed, swallowing hard as she turned around and looked back towards the empty stairs. Two bodies laid there on stairwell, blood dribbling down the steps like a morbid waterfall in a zen garden. She bit her lower lip and stuck her 3DS back in her bag before getting down on her knees. She set her lunchpail down and opened it up, strategically assembling her gun together as chaos continued to ensue on either side of her. She focused hard and tried to remember what Ryan had taught her in what little time they had. Load the clip. Make sure it's secure. Screw on the silencer. Draw back the slide. Stand up straight. Aim. Then breathe.

She took a deep breath through her nose and kept her finger on the trigger, not moving a muscle.

Not even when a guard came running down the steps.

The man was relatively stocky with a sleek hairstyle and a beard much bushier and longer than Jack's. His eyes went wide went he saw Elliot, her gun still raised and pointed at him.

“Wh...What on—” He held a hand up to her, “L-Look, kid. W-Whatever's happening, let me help.”

Her eyes narrowed at him. He swallowed hard. “You don't have to be apart of this,” He reasoned, pointing past her to where he was sure the other perpetrators were, “Whatever it is these guys are making you do, you don't _have_ to do it....I can help you...”

Her eyes briefly flicked down to his name tag. Adam Ellis.

“Please, ju—”

Before he could finish, she pulled the trigger and the sound of a sharp _POP!_ rang in the air. He let out a yell as he suddenly felt something hit his stomach, and he clutched it tight with both hands, his heart racing and skipping and thundering all at the same time. He continued to yell, his voice going louder at the red he saw seeping out between his fingers. He held his hands where he was hit for a few seconds before his screaming slowed to a stop. It didn't hurt, he thought to himself. It actually didn't hurt. Why didn't it hurt?

He slowly let go of his stomach and held his hands out, his brows knitting in a confused frown.

The red on his fingers, it wasn't blood. It was...

“The fuck?” He breathed, rubbing the liquid between is fingers, “Is this...I-Is this paint?!”

_Pop!_ Another shot. This time to the heart. The security guard yelped and clutched his chest, stumbling backwards before hitting the steps. The sight of such an authentic looking weapon, it still scared the shit out of him. He stared over at the girl with eyes the size of tennis balls, his breathing heavy and his heart fluttering in pure shock.

“Wh...What the?!” He tried to take a breath, his head was reeling, “The hell are ya doing, kid?!”

Before he could answer, two men in masks slowly moved up from behind her. Large black duffle bags were hanging securely over their shoulders, and they looked stuffed with what he could only assume was money. The shorter man in the mask held a gun out and pointed it right at him, the guard showing no fear this time as he tossed a hand in their direction.

“What the fuck is going on he—?!”

Before he could finish, the man in the mask pulled the trigger. The sound of his gun rang a lot differently when he fired it. It didn't let out a sharp pop like the little girl's did. It was muffled, sure, but it was sharp—a loud _Pht!_ before he felt something hot hit his chest. This one actually hurt. It hurt a lot. So much that when he looked down, he saw red spilling out of the hole where he was hit.

And this time, he was positive it wasn't paint.

Elliot watched as the security guard fell over dead on the steps. She lowered her gun and looked up at Ryan, her expression calm, neutral. She couldn't see the face he was making behind his mask, but his body language was loose, like he was comfortable almost.

“...Come on kid,” His muffled voice rang. He reached down and grabbed her bony arm, dragging her up the steps covered in blood and bodies.

The alarm finally went off when they reached the lobby. Lester warned them this would happen. This is where it got interesting. Elliott holstered her gun in her belt and ran up to Geoff's side, watching as he pointed his shotgun down at a scared woman's head. He fired a shot only a foot or so away from her face, watching as she jumped and screamed in horror for God to save her. Michael laughed from a good distance away.

“We got the money! Let's move!” Ryan barked out, rushing over to the front door. Geoff raised his rifle from the woman's head and turned around.

“You okay kid?” He looked down at the girl. He couldn't tell if she was gonna be sick or if she was gonna pass out. She nodded, though. Her head was still buzzing with everything that was happening around her. So much was happening. She couldn't process it.

He briefly put a hand on her head. “It's alright,” He said quickly, his voice muffled through his mask, “It's al—Hey—Look at me. It's alright. You're doing good!”

She swallowed hard and nodded her head, following alongside the Kingpin as he led the five of them out of the lobby. They exited the first door and stayed behind the second one that led to the outside world. Sirens were starting blare, and everyone could hear the loud, testosterone filled voices of the LSPD getting ready to strike. Ryan walked forward and slipped out a large knife, cutting off the ziptie that kept the exit's doorknobs together. He opened up one door just a crack, but quickly shut it when bullets started popping off right at him.

“ _Yikes,_ ” He mused, putting his knife away and getting out his gun, “I think they're pissed, guys.”

“Yeah _no shit_ ,” Michael huffed. He quickly reloaded his rifle and looked over to Geoff. “Alright, so what's the plan Lazer?”

Just then, Geoff's phone beeped in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and looked at the text before putting it back.

“We take out the cops and get the fuck outta here,” He instructed, loading his rifle before cocking it back, “X-Ray and Vav are waiting down an alley to the left.”

The other four nodded firmly before reloading their weapons. Elliot swallowed hard and started fidgeting in place. She never had to run from the LSPD before, not like this. How were they so sure that they could dodge that many policemen with that many guns? She had nothing to protect herself with. No body armor, no gun....none that fired _real_ bullets, anyway.

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She could do this, she thought. She could do this.

Her eyes flicked over to her right when she saw Ryan step up beside her. His eyes were pointed towards the door, his stare bearing into it like a dog on high alert. His rifle was pointed forward and his finger rested firmly on the trigger. His breathing was as light as it was steady. The girl was in awe. She took another calming breath through her nose and looked over at the door in determination. She could do this, she thought. She could do this.

“Hey...” She heard a voice mutter. She looked to her right and stared up at Ryan. He was still looking at the door.

“...Stick close, kid.” She heard him mutter. She furrowed at him briefly before Jack kicked open the door, the four off them firing off simultaneously towards the cops. Elliot jumped a little before she felt a hand push her in the back hard.

“GO! GO! GO! GO!” She heard Michael bark. And boy, did she go. She didn't need to be told twice. She booked it down the steps and kept her head low, screaming her head off at the sounds of bullets flying and police sirens blaring. She could hear glass shattering and see cops toppling over after being gunned down. Her mind was reeling. She didn't know which way she was going or which alley to turn onto. She just ran, and she kept running until she felt a hand grab her arm and yank her back. Her first thought was that it was Ryan pulling her back, maybe because she had accidentally passed where she was supposed to run. But when she turned around and saw the black uniform with the shiny badge and fancy patches, she was close to throwing up out of sheer terror.

An LSPD officer gripped her firmly on the arm and pulled her back, his mouth moving a mile a minute. She couldn't understand what he was saying. So much was going on, she couldn't hear him over the sounds of all the chaos. She tried pulling her arm away from him, but he just gripped harder and pulled her back. His mouth moved again, his brows knitted into that firm, animalistic frown she had grown to fear and hate. She couldn't understand what he was saying, though! Was it a demand? Was it a question? Why was she with the Fake AH Crew? Did she rob the bank? Was she a hostage?

She attempted to pull her arm away from him again, only to have it pulled back harder. This time, it really hurt, and she let out a cry to let him know it.

“Stop resisting!” She heard him bark as she continued to flail around, “I SAID STOP RESISTING! STOP RESISTING!”

“I'M NOT! YOU'RE HURTING ME!” She cried out. It was becoming second nature at this point. She was scared, and she was hurting. She wanted to get away. She wanted to get away from him.

“ _What do we do if they get you?” She heard her mother ask._

_Little Elliot winced, sitting as still as she could as Granmè braided her hair. “We stay calm.”_

“ _Wi_ , _we stay calm,” Her mother reached forward and gently gripped her little hands. She stared her daughter firmly in the eye. “We stay calm, and we do whatever they say...Can you do that, de gè?”_

_Elliot winced again as Granmè pulled her hair. Still, she tried focusing on the beautiful woman in front of her, watching as her warm grey eyes swelled with worry._

“ _It's going to be scary,” Her mother assured her,“And there is nothing you will want to do more than run, but you must stay there...”_

_The little girl furrowed, her eyes falling to her mother's weathered hands as she held them firmly in her own._

“ _Even if they hurt me, mama?” She asked, watching as her mother's full lips curled between her teeth. She looked on the verge of crying, her curls bobbing as she nodded firmly._

“ _Even if they hurt you,” She answered, her voice cracking a little. “Pa ba yo yon rezon, de gè,” She begged, “Do not give them a reason...”_

“STOP RESISTING!” She heard the cop bark once more. Elliot looked up at his burning face and swallowed hard, keeping her lips sealed shut as she finally stopped flailing around. Instead she let the cop twist her arms behind her back and get her to her knees on the ground. She felt him shove her over and keep her pinned face down into pavement, little bits of rocks and glass digging into her cheek. She could feel her gun being pulled out from her side before she saw it being tossed a good foot or so away from her. She could hear the handcuffs rattling behind her. She could see the cop moving from the corner of her eye, and could feel as he got one onto her left wrist—but then he suddenly jerked to the right, and something warm splashed onto the side of her face.

The side of the cop's head had suddenly burst open as Michael fired a shot. Geoff quickly rushed over and kicked the body off of Elliot, Ryan reaching down to pick the pre-teen up before all five of them booked it towards the alley.

An armored vehicle was all ready and waiting for them when they reached the alleyway. Ray was sitting in the driver's side while Gavin was parked on point with his iconic purple motorbike. Jack got into the passenger's side of the car while Ryan and Michael took a seat in the back. Elliott was just about to go for the back too when Geoff stopped her.

“No! You go with Gavin!” He instructed, suddenly pausing for a second when he finally got a good look at her. Blood had completely splattered on one side of her face. He was about to say something to her about it, but she turned around sharply and went straight for Gavin and his bike. The man helped her on and gave her his only helmet to put on as he revved the engine. Ray honked the horn as Michael stuck his head out the window, Jack and Ryan still yelling in the background.

“CAN WE FUCKING GO, PLEASE?!” He barked.

Geoff quickly snapped out of it and swiftly opened the door to the back, getting inside before Ray and Gavin peeled out of there for good.


	8. Party at Gatsby's! (And by That I Mean Geoff's!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ain't no party like a Fake AH party 'cause a Fake AH party don't stop!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: in this chapter there are mentions of:  
> \- underage smoking  
> \- drinking/drug use

Fake AH Crew tradition called for having bevs on the roof after each successful heist. And, if it was particularly dangerous and life-threatening, tradition called for throwing a massive party that involved loud music, lots of people, and even _more_ drinking. It was to reflect on valuing life, Geoff said. You only live once, so when you have a brush with death and get out it alive, you need do it big and you live it up afterwards.

And live it up, they did.

Hundreds of people showed up on the roof of Geoff's apartment that night—dancing to insanely loud music, and swapping everything from kisses to crazy stories to expensive drugs. Elliot walked around with her head lowered, weaving around girls from the Vanilla Unicorn strip club who danced in bikini's before being playfully shoved into the pool. She crept past Ray and the smoking circle of partygoers whose faces were all latched to their respective bongs and bowls. The marijuana was apparently a gift from a rival crew that pushed high grade strains through the streets. She slid by Gavin and Michael who were busy doing body shots off of models to even notice her.

The only one who seemed to notice her was Ryan, who watched as she slipped into a more secluded spot by the edge of the roof. She sat down in front of the railing and slipped her bony legs through the empty space underneath, letting them sway back and forth as her feet dangled over the edge. She watched the city below, a cigarette resting lazily between her fingers. She briefly put the flilter to her lips and took a small puff before exhaling, her eyes flutttering shut as a warm breeze blew by and kissed her skin.

Ryan was about to take a step towards her, but he looked to the right and saw Geoff walk up beside her. The man in the fitted suit stood next to her with a burning cigar and a whiskey glass in his hand. He didn't say much to her as he stood there, but together they watched the cityscape and smoked.

It was an interesting sight to behold, to be honest. Seeing someone so young sitting next to someone so dangerous,

“RRRYE BREAD!” A familiar voice drunkenly squawked. Ryan mumbled an 'oh no' as Gavin slung a heavy arm over his shoulder, his martini sloshing out of his glass and splattering on the floor. He must not have noticed, because he put the glass up to his lips anyway before pulling it back to look at it with a pout.

“Wh—What the—” He was genuinely confused. Ryan couldn't help but smile. Gavin rolled his head to the left and his eyes narrowed, a lazy, awkward grin stretching across his face. “Ryan....did you drunk my drink?”

The man let out an airy laugh, shaking his head as he carefully wriggled away from Gavin's grip. “No, I did not 'drunk your drink', Gav.”

Gavin looked down at his glass again, pouting.

“Well someone did,” The guy huffed, suddenly tossing his glass aside and chuckling when he heard it shatter. A couple guests in the crowd screamed, Gavin just smiled and swayed in place as he pointed over to where the bar was. “You wanna....do shots with me and Micoo?”

Ryan held up his can of Dr. Pepper. “I think I'm good.”

“PFFFFFT!” Gavin sputtered, “Smeggin' bore! C'mon Ryan! It's g—”

“Gavin!” Michael laughed out from the bar, “C'mon!! I got us tequila!!”

Gavin held up a fist towards him in solidarity before looking back at Ryan. The man took a small swig from his drink before waving him away. “Go have fun, Gav.”

Gavin shrugged and staggered away towards the bar, stopping occasionally to take a wild selfie with a few partygoers. Ryan slipped away to the seats where the people too drunk or too coked out of their minds to talk were sitting. It was much quieter, minus the occasional groan and grumble let out that was too ineligible for anyone to understand. He sat down with his drink and watched as the world went on before him. Everyone smiling, lost in their vices as they danced, smoked, snorted, and all around destroyed themselves. The party was reaching a point where everyone was acting up, and very few people were sober. He saw Gavin dancing wildly with one of the Vanilla Unicorn Girls, Michael laughing loudly as Ray passed him a share of his joint. Jack was walking around with a glass of water in his hand, smiling lightly as he casually danced in place with the music. He didn't stick around for long though. After a few minutes of socializing and taking pics with people, he sent a group text to everyone in the Crew that he had to duck out early since had work tomorrow. Gavin texted back the number 0 while Geoff simply replied for him to have a good night. Ryan texted that he had to duck out early, too.

It wasn't because he had work or anything, but because parties like this weren't exactly his thing.

He left the apartment with a hefty sigh, and shut his eyes as the warm night air hit his skin. He could feel himself beginning to unwind and become a lot more lax. There was something about the city at night that calmed him. He didn't know why. He got out a lighter and a box of Marlboro Reds, casually opening the top and pulling out a cigarette between his lips. He flicked on his lighter and lit the end as he sucked on the filter a few times, the familiar taste of menthol and smoke hitting his tongue before he let out a smoke-filled sigh. He stopped for a second to stuff his cigs and lighter back into his pocket before walking back out towards the street. His car was waiting for him right outside, and for some reason, the sight of it made him smile. He sucked down on the filter of his smoke as he walked up to the driver's seat door, opening it right up, and pausing immediately after. He exhaled slowly, looking through the haze and down at his hand on the door handle.

He could've sworn he locked it.

He opened the door further, leaning down to look inside with a frown. His eyes immediately went to his radio. Still there. His GPS. Still there. His leather seat coverings. Still there. 

His eyes flicked over to the passenger's seat and he coughed, taking the cigarette out of his mouth as his coughing started to get worse. He took a step back and leaned away, coughing hard a few times before finally getting a grip. He cleared his throat and swallowed hard as he looked back into the car, and just who it was that occupied passenger's seat.

Elliot sat there, fast asleep with her 3DS laying there in her lap. Ryan stared at her in confusion, his mind reeling with questions. When the hell did she leave? And how did she get in here?

His hands immediately went to his coatpockets and he fished around for his keys. He found them right away, nestled under his cigarettes and his lighter. That only made him frown more. How the hell did she break into his car?

“Uh...” He paused. He didn't know what to say. Should he wake her up? Should he just take her home? He swallowed, slowly slipping into the car and shutting the door. She shifted a little at the sound, turning slightly on her side and letting out a heavy sigh. She stopped moving, her breathing steady and quiet as she continued to sleep. Ryan scratched the back of his head as he watched her, his mind reeling as he tried to think of what to do. Maybe he should call Geoff, he thought. It was pretty late, though. He was probably too shitfaced to even pick up his phone by now. Calling Gavin or Michael was out of the question, Ray as well...

He let his head fall back against his seat, uttering out a tired “ _Fuck,_ ' in a harsh whisper. He shook his head at himself, then put his cigarette back to his lips before turning the car on.

It wouldn't hurt to cruise around for a little bit.

Even though she wasn't fully awake, she could see the city lights dancing across her eyelids. The radio was mellow, yet quiet, mixing in tandem with the sounds of the city that leaked through the partially opened windows of the car. The engine thrummed and rumbled under her as they moved, and she could feel the car speeding up and slowing down. The wind casually kissed her skin as they moved, the scent of the city changing every time as they rode around. She smelled fried food, she smelled gas, she smelled nature, she smelled the ocean. When she briefly opened her eyes, she could see the giant ferris wheel's bright, vivid light display from afar. She could hear tourists and children laughing from the Pleasure Pier, the muffled, distant sound of the bass thumping from the music that vibrated through the amusement park. She could smell the fires from the beach, the hispsters who lived for staying out late to party laughing way too hard as they danced around them. Her eyes shut for only a minute before she opened them again, watching as they passed several novelty stores along the boardwalk. A few girls working the night shifts were walking around as well, a few of them casually walking up next to Ryan's side of the car to chat. One woman he chatted with for a particularly long time was named Ruby. Elliott didn't get to look at her, but she could still hear her in her sleepy daze. She sounded pretty, her voice slightly dreamy and basey at the same time. She sounded like a nuturer, more so than the other women who had approached the car.

The scent of cigarettes tickled her nose. Ryan was smoking again. He lit himself a cigarette, and another for Ruby. He handed it to her, keeping his hand on the wheel as he slowly drove alongside her as she walked.

“She should be in bed,” The woman peeped, her voice quiet as her bright blues pointed over to the small body in the passenger's side of his car. Ryan turned his head to look at her, before looking back.

“She is in bed. For now, anyway,” He took a slow drag from his cig and pulled it out from between his lips, tilting his head out the window to blow the smoke away from the young girl. Ruby watched with a faint smile and took a small hit, tilting her head back to blow smoke up to the sky.

“I didn't peg you for the dad type,” She mused, “Figured you'd be too busy blowing up cops to even have time to stick it to a girl.”

“I had time for you, didn't I?”

She smiled, scoffing lightly through her pointed nose. “Once...” She looked back over to him, her brows raising. “We ever going to have that romantic getaway you promised?”

His brows raised back at her. “ _You_ promised a romantic getaway, Remember?”

She laughed this time, smiling before putting the cigarette back to her red lips. She sucked down on the filter for a second or two, the end burning bright orange before dimming again as she exhaled in a smoke-filled sigh.

“I did,” She mused quietly, “I did promise...”

Elliot furrowed lightly, This woman, the sound of her voice....There was a hint of longing, an echo of something that possibly slipped through her fingers. She was content, but she was sad. Her tone was similar to Ryan's.

“Candy was asking about Gavin again,” She heard Ruby remark suddenly, the tone of the conversation switching as Ryan audibly scoffed. “She still says that was the best night of her life. He ever gonna stop by again?”

“Can't say for sure,” Ryan mused, “He's had eyes on someone else, for quite a long time.”

“I heard,” Ruby chirped, “She comes down here from time to time too. Brings us extra condoms, spends quality time with Lola Del Rio a lot.”

“Really.” He sounded genuinely surprised.

“Mmhmm,” Ruby's tone was growing playful, a small giggle escaping her lips. “She's quite the lover, I've heard. Lola's crazy about her, says she looks _killer_ in lacy underwear.”

Ryan smiled lightly. “I'll be sure to pass that note to Gavin.”

Ruby smiled back, her bright blues flitting to the ground as she brushed some of her pretty brown hair behind her ear. “I gotta get back to work,” She peeped, pausing for a few seconds before looking back at the man. Her eyes pointed over to the extra body in the car. “She really should be in a bed.”

The man nodded lightly, still looking at her with that smile. That crooked, warm smile that she still found herself thinking about since that night. What a smile....

“I'll see you later, alright?” She heard him say. He leaned back in his seat, watching her as she nodded lightly and gave him a small wave goodbye. He slowly rolled up the window and pulled ahead, carefully driving down the boardwalk before taking a left and disappearing behind the corner.

  
Elliott closed her eyes, listening to the mellow sounds of the radio, the thrum of the engine as they continued to drive around. When she opened them back up, she slowly turned her head to watch Ryan as he kept his eyes forward, a freshly lit cigarette dangling from his lips.

She sat up a little straighter and rubbed her eyes. “How long was I out?”

“The whole night, pretty much.” He answered simply, Elliot furrowed, looking forward with heavy lidded eyes to see that it was in fact early morning, and downtown was nowhere in sight. That only made her frown harder.

She looked around in confusion. “Where are we?”

Ryan took a slow drag and exhaled towards his window opened just a crack. “Mount Chiliad,”

“Mount Chiliad?” She quoted, “W...what are we doing here?”

He took another quick hit before stubbing out his cig on the small ash tray in his lower dash. “Target practice,” He answered simply, getting out of the car quickly after. Elliott frowned a little and got out after him, following him to the trunk of his car with great caution as he opened it up. He pulled out a black leather suitcase and a large duffel bag, slinging it over his shoulder before shutting the trunk. The noise made her jump a little. Ryan handed her the suitcase and told her to follow him. And follow him, she did. She kept a steady pace as she stayed only a few steps in back of him, still wary of what he was planning to do out here in the middle of nowhere with these bags. When they finally stopped, they were at the high point of a random hill that overlooked a large clearing below. There were only a few rocks and ridges scattered around, nothing to block your vision.

Or to break your fall if you were to be pushed over.

She swallowed hard, flinching a little as Ryan moved beside her and took the suitcase. He knelt down and opened it up, revealing a rifle with a scope in three parts. He quickly started to assemble it.

"Now pay attention," He spoke sternly, "To do a job, any job, you have to learn a lot of different things. Every successful job is just the completetion of many smaller, simpler tasks."

He carefully pulled back the slide and inspected it before letting it spring back into place. He loaded the clip, then screwed on the silencer until it was secure.

“The rifle is the first thing you learn because it lets you keep your distance from the target,” He carefully propped the rifle on its respective bipod and opened up the duffle bag, pulling out a blanket and laying it on the ground beneath them. He laid down flat on his stomach and signaled for her to do the same. She laid down flat beside him, scooting up close to the rifle.

She watched as Ryan pointed to the cap still placed over the scope. “Never open this until the last minute, it reflects light.”

She nodded her head rapidly, swallowing hard as she leaned in and peered through the sniper scope, aiming the crosshairs at the target 600 meters or so away.

"I'm going to start giving you some points to study each day," He informed. “You'll be getting your basic gun training from me as well.”

"Okay," She replied.

"Make sure the muzzle doesn't stick out over the edge," He instructed, "Stay down as low as you can, and if your rifle doesn't have a bipod then you'll have to grip the barrel tight with your bracing hand.”

“Okay.”

“Anything closer than 600 meters you aim for the head. Anything past 600, aim for the center of the body."

Elliot nodded her head lightly and focused as best as she could on the target's center. It wasn't anything special, only a wonky looking boulder. She had to tilt the barrel around a few times, but it didn't take long for her to finally find the center in her sights and keep it there. That made her smile a little inside. She took a slow inhale and put her finger on the trigger, watching closely, aiming, slowly pressing down as Ryan's voice thrummed in her left ear.

“...Now.”

 _SPLAT!_ The bullet hit the rock's center with a sharp snap, and a sudden red mark splattered across it. She aimed for the rock on the right.

“Again.” He instructed.

She fired. The bullet splattered off the top of the rock's head. She tilted her rifle and aimed for the chest. Miss. She tilted it again. Miss. This one hit the stomach. She tilted it up just a little, and fired again. Direct hit.

They spent the whole morning practicing until they ran out of paint bullets. The rocks were all decorated works of art at this point, and after a solid 3 minutes of begging from the 13 year old girl, Ryan finally snapped a picture of it on his phone.

 

He treated her to doughnuts and coffee for a job well done once they got back to the city. Although, he immediately switched that coffee he promised to Milk, because caffeine + small children = a really bad idea.

“I'm not gonna have you hyper and try to handle a gun at the same time,” He reasoned as they both sat in the car. Elliott rolled her eyes with a sigh before stuffing a whole donut in her mouth, her cheeks puffed up and full as she attempted to chew. She looked at herself in the side mirror, chuckling to herself before looking over at Ryan. She crossed her eyes at him. He gave her a weird look, a strange mix between disgusted, confused, and creeped out. It only made her smile more. She wolfed down her breakfast like a baby bird (in the sense that her head tilted back and bobbed as she chewed), and the sight of her only made his nose wrinkle even more.

“Didn't your parents ever teach you how to eat?” He asked, taking a small sip of coffee. She turned to look at him, her mouth still stuffed and jelly dribbling from the corners of her mouth.

“Sorpha—”

“Oh, God. _Chew_ , please,”

She shut her mouth and chewed a few more times before swallowing, taking a quick gulp of milk before wiping her mouth. “I said, sorta. I don't know any of the fancy stuff.”

“Fancy stuff?” He quoted. She nodded her head.

“Yeah, like, which one's the salad fork, or the dessert fork,”

She watched as his brows knitted and his eyes flitted to the right before narrowing. “There's—No such thing as a dessert for—”

Just then there was a knock at the driver's side window. Both of them jumped. Ryan turned around sharply to see a man in a familiar pair of gold framed sunglasses staring down at him. It was Gavin, and he looked like a hot mess. He still wore last night's clothes. His blue dress shirt was unbuttoned halfway down his chest and lipstick marks peppered his whiskery jaw and neck. His pants were littered with food stains and his hair was disheveled on it's own this time. Still, he had a big toothy grin on his face as he looked the two in the car. He started mouthing something to them that didn't become legible until Ryan rolled down the window.

“—ondering where you two buggered off to,“ He chirped, “Party was mental last night, weren't it?”

“Yeah, crazy,” Ryan muttered, his eyes flitting down to Gavin's arms as they rested on the sill of his window. “There a reason you're leaning on my car?”

The shaggy haired brunette straightened up, raising his hands in defense with a cheeky smirk on his face. Right as he did so, Michael ran up from behind him and suddenly put him a headlock.

“Gotcha, bitch!” He laughed, listening as Gavin made a weird noise and flailed around in his grip. Ray walked up next to him, looking oddly refreshed with a new set of clothes on and his hands stuffed in his twitch hoodie pockets. He leaned down halfway to look into the car and waved at both of them with a tired smile.

“Michael, no! Stop!” Gavin laughed, reaching a hand out towards Ray, “X-Ray! Help! Pull me out!”

“Only pussies pull out, Gav,” Ray quipped, still looking at Ryan and Elliot in the car. ”I”m gonna go get food. You guys want anything?”

Even though Ryan and Elliot already ate, that didn't stop them from going inside the breakfast joint just to sit down and hang out for a bit. Geoff was still sleeping off a massive hangover, so they had time to kill before it was time to head back to Church for Lester's second briefing.

Ray ordered himself two boxes of donuts- 1 dozen of the specialty, and 1 box of the classic. Michael resorted to a simple bear claw and a can of red bull, while Gavin got himself coffee and a couple of cake donuts.

Ray and Elliot split a maple bacon bar together as Gavin surfed through the pictures on his phone to show Ryan and Michael. Elliot had never been to this donut joint before, so Ray explained each of the flavors to her while the others talked about last night's shennagians at the party.

“This one's pretty good,” He muttered, pointing down to the pink frosted one with sprinkles, “It's called a Simpsons d'ohnut.”

She looked down at it for a second before giggling. “Like what Homer Simpson eats!”

“Yeah, right?” He pointed to a donut with purple frosting and cinnamon toast crunch on it. “ _This one_ is super dank. You gotta try this one. Blueberry toast crunch.”

He picked it up and gave half to her, watching as she shoved it in her mouth in one go. She chewed it a few times before pausing, taking a second to analyze the taste. Ryan looked away from Gavin's phone and down at the girl beside him.

Ray looked over at her intently from across the table. “Good?”

She started chewing again and gave him a thumbs up, a small smile on her stuffed face. “Ith goo!”

Ryan scoffed, the corner of his mouth quirking up as he took a sip of his coffee. Gavin finally set down his phone and picked up his donut instead. He tore off a piece and popped it into his mouth, looking over at Ray intently.

“Ray, If I paid you a million dollars—”

Suddenly Ryan, Ray, and Michael all groaned at the same time. Elliott looked at them in confusion.

“Oh _God_ ,” Ryan groaned.

“What?!” Gav spoke, his voice coming out in a little whine.

“Gav, shut the fuck up,” Michael sighed, “Okay? Do not—”

“S'not a bad one, promise!” He chirped, looking back over a Ray with an awkward grin, “Ray, for a million dollars, would you do coke off of Geoff's—”

“Gavin, I swear to God, I'm eating right now!” Michael bit.

The sandy-brunette let out a gawky laugh. “What?! S'a question, Michael!” He turned to look back at Ray. “For a million dollars, would you snort coke off of Geoff's—”

A pair of hands suddenly covered her ears, and Gavin's voice went muffled. Elliot looked up from her donut to see Ryan keeping his hands there, his eyes narrowed over at Gavin and his cheeky grin. He talked excitedly about something while Ray shrugged and nodded. Michael shook his head while Gavin put his fist to his mouth, his whole body shaking. He was laughing, hard. Michael set down his donut with a frustrated sigh and started getting up out of his seat. Ryan's hands left her ears as well.

“I can't eat anymore, Gavin ruined it.” The redhead grit.

“Wot! I didn't do anything!” Gavin squawked, his laugh melding into a squeak as he watched Michael shake his head.

“You're sick, you know that? You're a sick fuck.”

This only made him laugh harder, only proving his guilt even more. “I didn't do anythin', Michael! I didn't!”

“What did he say?” Elliot muttered, leaning in closer to Ray. The guy shrugged.

“Don't worry about it,” He uttered back, shoving the last of his donut into his mouth. He pointed over to the last donut in her box. “You gonna eat that?”

She shook her head and handed it to him, earning a small “Thanks,” before he started eating again. Elliot turned in her seat to look over at Ryan, an oddly sweet smile on her face.

“Can I have some money?” She asked him.

He furrowed a little. “...Why?”

“I wanna get donuts,”

“You just had, like, 50.”

“They're not for me, duh!”

“Duh?” He quoted, “You getting mouthy with me now? Punk?”

He reached over and poked her in the side, the girl immediately squeaking and giggling. He poked her a few more times, watching as she flailed in her seat, laughing and trying to swat his hand away.

“Stop!” She giggled loudly, holding her sides so he couldn't tickle her anymore, “Can I have some? Pleeeaaase?”

He rolled his eyes with a sigh and got out his wallet. He gave her a 50.

“Don't go over—” She swiped it out of his hands with a cheery “Thank you!” and hurried to make her order. Instead of waiting for Michael to officially get up out his seat so she could get out, she climbed up onto the table and started hurrying across, Ray moving his boxes out of the way just in time as she walked to the edge and hopped off. Gavin's mouth hung open the entire time, Michael's hands up as he gave her the most distinct 'what-the-fuck' look he'd ever given someone. She scampered over to the front counter and ordered 50 dollars worth of specialty donuts, Ryan's eyes rolling and his head falling back at an instant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not saying the Donut joint where they eat at is inspired by California Donuts
> 
> but the Donut joint is totally inspired by California Donuts. [[HERE](http://www.cadonuts.com/menu/)]


	9. Donuts and Dealers, Oh My!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after is a little rough for Elliott and the Fake AH Crew. The 13 year old is really starting to question whether or not she can handle them.

“What the _hell_ are you gonna do with 8 boxes of donuts?!” Michael asked as he opened up the front door. He held it for her as she walked through, carrying the large stack all by herself.

“I—Thanks. I told you! They're not for me!” She chirped, stopping to turn around and peek out from behind the stack. “Can someone drop me off at the pier?”

Ryan tossed his empty coffee cup in the trash before getting out his pack of cigarettes. “The pier?”

“Yes please.” She chirped.

“Now _why_ would we drop you off at the damn pier?” Michael asked.

“Uh, because _that's where I need to go?_ ” She retorted, the same mouthy tone in her voice. Gavin's eyes widened and Ray muttered a small 'ooooh,'. Ryan just scoffed, stepping forward before Michael could get a word in.

“I'll take you,” He offered, Michael brushing past him to point a firm finger down at the little girl. Elliot's face only matched his as they gave each other the dirtiest of looks.

“You better fuckin' watch your mouth, _kid,_ ” He warned lowly, that last part coming out sharp and bitter, “I'll smack the shit out of you.”

“If you touch me i'll shoot you,” She retorted, the readhead scoffing over her. “I will! Ryan taught me how to shoot today!” 

“Ooh, I'm fuckin' _terrified_ ,” He sneered, only smirking as her face scrunched into a pout that was anything but intimidating.

“C'mon, man,” Ray muttered, gently gripping Michael's leather coat sleeve and pulling him away. Elliot stuck a firm tongue out at him, but the readhead only laughed it off and gave her the finger, walking away with Ray and Gavin towards his car. Ryan took a few boxes off the top of her stack and started carrying them over to his car.

“What's his problem, anyway?” The girl asked, an angry frown still etched on her face as she put the boxes in the trunk of Ryan's car. The sandy-blonde just shrugged his shoulders with a sigh and put the rest of the boxes in.

“Michael is just...Michael,” He said before slamming the trunk door shut. “You'll get used to him.”

The girl folded her bony arms and huffed in frustration.

“He's a butthole,” She mumbled, suddenly earning a laugh from the man in the messy ponytail next to her. It was loud and full, and it made her look up at him and crack a smile. As angry as she was, hearing his laugh made something tickle her insides and rise in her throat. It made her smile stretch and a laugh couldn't help but escape. It made her grip her stomach and hunch over, tears prickling the corners of her eyes. She didn't stop laughing until they got back into the car, and even then she found herself giggling occasionally whenever he did.

Despite the parking spots already provided, Ryan drove them over to Del Perro pier and parked right outside the gate. He didn't even have time to turn the car off when Elliot slipped right out and rushed over to the trunk. He slipped out of the car as well and went to open it up for her, watching as she started pulling out the boxes as quick as lightning and shoving them into his arms.

“Hold these!” She chirped, taking out the remaining boxes and setting them on the ground. She slammed the trunk door shut and Ryan let out a firm “Easy!” in warning. She didn't acknowledge it though. She seemed way too excited, like a child on it's way to Disney World, amped up on a type of energy that adults dreaded. He followed closely behind her as she rushed towards the pier, seeming much more chipper as she walked into the amusement park area.

There did seem to be a lot more kids than usual, especially this early in the day.

“ELLIE'S BACK!” A shrill voice suddenly chirped. Ryan furrowed, tensing up as a slew of children from all over swarmed up to the small girl with wild hair. Kids all shapes and sizes came up to her, all of them relatively dirty, all of them barefoot, and all of them happy. Some of them held stuffed toy prizes and cotton candies in their tiny hands, others looked much to poor to even step foot in a carnival. They all knew Elliot though, and they surrounded her like she was a long lost friend, someone who they hadn't spoken to in ages.

“We saw the heist on the news!” A little Indian girl chirped, “We looked for you!”

“Did you get to shoot anyone! Was it scary?!” A little redheaded boy chirped.

Other kids started to chime in, their loud, pitched voices making Ryan feel more and more uncomfortable as he stood there. Children were so....odd. He watched as Elliot smiled and passed around the boxes in her arms, wasting no time in telling them everything about what she went through these past few days. She didn't boast or brag, or even exaggerate the story. She just told it like it happened, and the way she spoke to them made her sound much older than she was. Ryan saw the way the children looked at her, the same way he and the rest of the crew looked at Geoff. She was a marvel, a magnetic force that you couldn't help but be drawn to. Their eyes widened at every word and they gasped at every twist and turn in the story. It was only when Elliott turned around and pointed over to Ryan that their mouths dropped, and the man in the messy ponytail tensed up. He stood there speechless with a stack of pink donut boxes in his hands. The other kids looked up at him, completely frozen. Ryan swallowed and gave them an awkward smile.

“Uhh...” He took a step forward, and a bunch of the kids yelped and scurried behind Elliott. The tiny redhead boy who asked about the shooting earlier was the only one who stepped up to him.

“Rosco don't!” A little girl chirped from behind Elliott, “He's the meanest guy in the crew!”

“He's not mean, he's Ryan!” Elliot defended, turning around to hand over the last box. Little Tamil took it from her hands and watched in fear as Rosco stepped up to the tall man in the leather jacket. Ryan didn't move a muscle. He just tilted a little to look down at him, the little dirt-faced kid looking up with great curiosity.

“You're the Vaga...” He swallowed hard, “Va-gaaa,”

“Vagabond,” Ryan finished, “Yeah.”

Rosco looked up at him with wide eyes, his mouth dropping slightly in awe. “You're the toughest guy in the crew.”

The man thought about it for a second, his brows raising as he shrugged, “Well—”

“My ma said—my mama said you're the devil!” The freckled boy chirped. Ryan was taken back a little.

“Oh,” He spoke, “W-well that's—”

“She said you kill people on purpose and you like it,” The little boy admitted, his voice eerly monotone as he suddenly flashed a smile at him. Ryan's brows raised for a second after some thought and he shrugged.

“Well....she's not wrong there,” He quipped thoughtfully.

“Can I have a donut?” Rosco pointed up at the stack of boxes still in Ryan's hands. The man in the pony tail leaned down and let him take the box sitting on top. Right as he did so, more and more kids started pooling out from behind Elliott and cautiously made their way over to him. One by one they took a box and sat down around him, asking him all sorts of questions with their mouths full.

“Are you guys trillionaires?”

“Have you ever escaped from prison?”

“What's your favorite color?”

“Is Geoff really mean?”

“Where's Gavin from?”

“Why's your hair so long?”

“How come you wear a mask all the time?”

“Are you scared of clowns?”

“Uh no, yes, red, sometimes, England, not a fan of scissors, because I can, aand no,” He answered quickly. He turned to look at Elliot as she was showing a couple kids the different flavors of donuts in their boxes. “Kid! We gotta bounce.” 

The scrawny girl looked up at him and smiled with a cheery “Kay!” before looking back at her friends. “I gotta go guys. I'm gonna help the crew on another mission today!”

The other children gasped, their eyes going wide as they all started chattering in excitement. They cheered her on and wished her good luck as she waved them goodbye and started walking off with Ryan.

“Be good, okay? Try not to give Carlos too hard of a time!” She called, watching as some of the other kids waved and chirped that they would. She waved a little once more before turning back around and getting into the car. She barely had time to put her seatbelt on before they sped off back into the city streets.

* * *

The ride back to Geoff's place was quiet. Only the sounds of an overly enthusiastic DJ on the radio broke the silence that swelled the between them. Ryan peered over to his right from time to time, watching as Elliot kept facing the window to watch the outside world roll by. A burning question kept running across his mind, and it only burned brighter the more he looked at her.

Who in the world was this girl?

“Ssooo...” He let out slowly, clearing his throat for a sec before speaking again. “Who were those kids back there? Friends from school?”

“Mm-mm,” She mumbled, shaking her head a little. “They're slumdwellers.”

His brows raised in surprise. That would explain all the dirty-faces, and how excited they got about food.

“I see,” He muttered, steering his car into the other lane and speeding past a food truck. “S-So....you're a slumdweller, then?”

“Mhm,” She still didn't turn around to face him. She just watched as they weaved around the downtown traffic, paying no mind to the rules of the road. “I like it that way. There's no homework, no bedtimes. I can do whatever I want.”

“Well what about your parents?” He found himself asking, “They okay with you living like th—”

“I don't have parents,” She answered lowly. She still didn't turn to look at him.

“...Oh,” He muttered, another burning question searing his brain. He chewed on his lip a little, secretly at war with himself as he hesitated to ask. He heard a light sigh escape her mouth before she finally turned around to look at him. Her expression was blank.

“They got shot by police.”

“...oh,” He let out quietly, his lips pursing shut as they pulled back up to the apartment. The rest of the boys' vehicles were already there and parked out front. Before Ryan could even turn the car off, the girl opened the door and slipped out without another word.

When they got back up to Geoff's place, they found the man sitting at his lavish dining table holding a mug out for Ray to pour coffee in. The bags under his heavy-lidded blue eyes were darker than usual, his mouth pursed to a thin line under his ungroomed mustache. He looked like hell. He must've woken up not two minutes ago.

Still, Elliott bounded over to him and gave him a tight hug.

“Morning, boss!” She chirped.

“Morn...” He mumbled, his sleepy eyes still pointed to the TV as Gavin and Michael surfed through the channels at the speed of sound. They stopped on Cartoon Network, and like a meerkat Elliot perked up and turned around with wide eyes and a smile. She gasped and bolted towards the tv, leaping onto the couch and rolling over it like a gymnast on the bar. Gavin and Michael both let out a noise as a tiny, bony body leaped in between them, their vision suddenly consumed by flailing limbs and hands and feet.

Gavin let out a noise while Michael barked for Elliott to sit still, smacking her feet out of his face as she laid upside down on the couch to watch the TV.

“Transformers is on!!” She cheered, letting out special effects noises as Optimus flew on screen. Michael switched the channel. Food Network. An English chef was teaching how to make pears poached in brandy. Elliot let out a loud whine and Geoff winced, covering an ear with one hand while drinking his coffee with the other.

“Michael!!” He called over her loud noises.

“What?!”

“Turn it back!”

“Why?!” He barked back, glaring daggers over at the girl beside him, “Quit being a brat! Gav and I had Tv!”

“But Transformers is on!” She whined.

“I don't give a shit! We had TV!” He barked, turning around to bark over at his boss, “Geoff!”

“GEOFF!” She screamed out, this one making everyone in the room flinch. Geoff jumped in his seat, spilling hot coffee on his 350 dollar Hanro robe. He leapt up with a cry and quickly tried to wipe it and cool off at the same time.

“God DAMMIT!” He barked out, glaring over at the three figures on the couch, “YOU!” All three of them went silent, Elliott slowly sliding her legs off the couch and rolling over to sit upright again. She and Gavin slowly sunk lower behind the couch, their fearful eyes never leaving the Kingpin's the entire time. Michael just sat firm with a hard expression on his face. If he was scared, he was sure good at hiding it.

The boss took a much needed breath through his nose and let it out shakily. It was clear he was trying to hold back from going off the rails, but he was close. Oh, was he _close_.

“Ray...” He let out slowly, quietly, “Would you be so kind as to grab the remote for me?”

The man in the purple hoodie walked over slowly and quietly, easily taking the remote from Michael. He stood there and looked over at Geoff, waiting on what he would ask next.

The man held out a tattooed hand. “Now, can you hand it to me please?”

This is when the air started to get thick with tension. Every step Ray took, Gavin and Elliott hid further behind the couch. Usually Gavin delighted in the act of Geoff or Michael getting pissed off. But this was something entirely different. _This_ was genuine anger, and _this_ brought on genuine fear. The type of fear that only God could both instill and save you from.

They watched as Ray walked over and placed the remote in the palm of Geoff's hand. He flinched a little and took a few steps back as the boss suddenly got up. It looked like he was about to retreat to his room, and there was going to be no consequence.

But then, he brought his arm back, and chucked the remote right at the tv with amazing force. The thing flew forward and Michael, Gav, and Elliott ducked, wincing as it smacked right into the screen with a loud crash.

“THERE! NOW NO ONE CAN WATCH THE FUCKING TV!” Geoff barked, his voice violently cracking in the process. He turned around sharply and stomped back into his room, slamming the door shut so hard he almost broke it. Everyone else stood in the other room silent as the grave, their eyes wide and their mouth's forming 'o's in complete shock. Ryan seemed to be the only one unaffected by it, the man playing tetris on his cellphone the entire time.

* * *

Elliott stayed quiet for the remainder of the morning, becoming unusually obedient when she was asked to do something or relay some info about something. Michael watched from his work table as she tapped away on her laptop, Ray's big purple headphones on her ears as she worked.

“We should piss off Geoff more often,” He laughed lightly, looking back down at the home made bomb he was making. He started gutting the cheap plastic alarm clock and took out the parts he needed. Gavin sat a good foot or so away from him, resting his chin on the edge of the table as he watched.

“S'not funny, Michael,” He mumbled, his eyes on the red sticks of dynamite bundled together, “She was proper frightened back there.”

“Well she should learn not to be a brat then,” The red head mused, carefully placing the wires from the dynamite sticks inside the alarm.

Gavin huffed lightly, his eyes drooping to a close as Michael continued to work. “Think you could both learn not to be brats...”

The redhead paused for a second before continuing, getting lost in his thoughts as he tinkered away.

The day was spent mostly working and setting up for the next bout of chaos Geoff had planned. There wasn't anything too specific like a heist, but there were a few things the kingpin had listed on the dry-erase board as 'Things to Do'. Fun little past-times that brought on the most amusement, and the most devastation.

After placing the orders for the bikes and testing out the security system at the Air Base, Elliott's stomach started growling for Lunch. She slipped off her headphones and got up from her seat, stretching her bony arms with a grunt before relaxing with a sigh. She looked over at Jack, watching as he scribbled away in his ledger while checking a stack of receipts.

“I'm gonna go get lunch,” She announced, “Anybody want anything?”

“...I'm down for Thai,” Gavin muttered after some time, “I'll take a large pad Thai, extra peanuts.”

“Same,” Ray mumbled.

“Make it three,” Jack added, “And a side of spring rolls.”

Elliott typed it in on her 3DS. She turned over to Michael and smiled up at him. “Michael?”

The redhead didn't answer right away. He still had his goggles on over his eyes—clearly focused as he carefully worked at the detonator he was building with a mini welder.

“...I'm fine,” He said after some time.

“You sure?” She asked him, “I'm buying.”

“I'm fine,” he mumbled back.

“....Aaare you—“

“I said I'm _fine,_ ” He bit out, stopping what he was doing before starting up again, “Jesus christ...”

Elliott's bottom lip curled between her teeth as her throat swelled and her eyes started to sting. The room had gone dead silent, and tension was high in the air.

“s...sorry,” She mumbled quietly, lowering her head as she stepped out of the room. No one said a thing as she shut the door quietly behind her and left the apartment with tears welling in her eyes.

Gavin swiveled around in his seat, staring over at the redhead with knitted brows. “Michael,”

“Gav, _drop it_.”

Gavin pursed his lips shut. For his sake, he _did_ drop it, but he didn't drop the scolding look on his face. Michael let out a frustrated huff and dove back into his work, ignoring his best friend's accusing look and the little voice in the back of his head that kept letting him know he fucked up.

* * *

The girl kicked the can with her bare foot and watched as it clanked and clattered across the pavement. She huffed and whimpered and wiped her blurry eyes as she walked down the street.

“Stupid boys,” She muttered, her voice cracking as she turned the corner. She kicked the can out onto the street and watched as it rolled right into traffic, getting smushed under the wheels of the afternoon commuters and their sports cars.

She took a seat on the steps and feasted on Gavin's pad thai noodles, inhaling them by the mouthful before opening up another box. Tears just continued to spill out. She couldn't stop them. The harder she tried, the more she thought about how upset Geoff and Michael were. And thinking about them being upset only made her more upset. Soon she was on the verge of breaking down, crying her eyes out with peanut noodles hanging out of her mouth. She sat there on the steps for ages, crying and eating while everyone on the street walked past her. A few kids around her age stopped to ask her what was wrong, but before she could answer, their parents would sweep them up and scold them for talking to the homeless. This only made her feel worse. She was sad, and dirty, and no one liked her. She didn't know what she was thinking, getting caught up with the crew, swept up in the idea that she could be a real tough guy like they were. She sniffled hard, wiping her teary eyes on her dirty sleeve before continuing to eat. Tears continued to spill down her cheeks, her eyes burning and her vision blurring. She couldn't stop thinking about how upset they were. They were so mad at her!

She broke down again, this time dropping her carton of food so she could bring her hands up to her face and cry. She sobbed and sobbed, her voice turning all sorts of heads, but no one bothering to stop and see what was wrong.

Until he came along.

There was a man at the corner of Power Street and Innocence Ave who always stood there with his hood up. He always stood there at specific time with an unlit joint dangling out of his mouth, and always waited for a specific type of person to come up to him. These types of people knew the reason why he always stood there, and just what it was that he had stuffed in his pockets when they came up to him. What he had in his pockets was the prize, an out-of-this-world high from an expensive product of quality that couldn't be beat in the streets of Los Santos. Despite the price of this product, these types of people always knew they would get their money's worth as long as they had exact change on them.

Today though, this man stepped away from his corner, and instead followed the loud cries from the tiny girl on the steps.

“Hey, there...uh, are you okay?”

Elliott looked up through blurry eyes to see the guy from the corner looking down at her. He had a concerned look on his face, and he looked both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He had a scar on his right eyebrow and a mane of wild, turquoise blue curls sticking out from under his hoodie. He had a pointed nose and a big smile and was all limbs, standing at a whopping 6 foot 6 when he stood up straight. He kind of reminded her of a rock star, somewhat, like if David Bowie and Kurt Cobain were to somehow fuse together, they would have created him.

“What's wrong, sweetie? Are you lost?” His voice was basey and calm. He was being friendly. He was being kind. The 13 year old sniffled hard and wiped her eyes, blinking a few times before getting a clear look at him.

“I—I just—” She sniffled again. “I—I'm just sad.”

A look of genuine concern fell over his face. He knelt down to her level, making direct eye contact with her.

“Why are you sad?” He asked. She wiped her runny nose on her sleeve and sniffled a third time.

“I messed up,” She peeped, “My friends are mad at me—I mean they're not my friends but...I want them to be.”

He scooted closer to her, his curiosity peaking. “Well, why are they mad at you?”

“Because I was annoying,” She mumbled, staring down at her pile of noodles on the ground, “I _am_ annoying...”

The man's lips twisted to the side in thought before a crooked smirk appeared. He tilted his head at her, leaning a bit to try and make eye contact with her again. “Well, you're young, and full of crazy energy, so naturally some people are gonna find it overwhelming.” She finally looked up at him. “It's not a bad thing. Adults are annoying, too. It's just how people are.”

She wiped her nose again as she thought about it. It was true, wasn't it. Gavin and Ryan always did things that the others in the crew found annoying. They were all still really good friends though, despite whatever annoying thing they did that day...

“...Yeah,” She said thoughtfully, “Adults are _really_ annoying, always telling you what to do and stuff.”

“Exactly,” He agreed, “Telling you to shower, to clean your room,”

“To eat with your fork at the table,” She added with a smile.

“Yeah see! You get it! It's the worst!!” He let out a laugh that made the girl smile and giggle. The guy's laugh was as infectious Ryan's, but they couldn't be any more different. His laugh rolled like a child's, and he smiled a huge, toothy smile that made his nose wrinkle. She liked it.

He patted her knee gently and stood back up, showing her just how tall he really was. He shoved his hands back into his hoodie pockets and tilted his head towards the carton on the ground.

“What'd you have, by the way?”

She looked down to the order that she had dropped at her feet. Ants were starting to nibble away at it, and that made her heart sink. _Oh man,_ she thought to herself, _now they really are gonna be mad at me._

“Pad thai with extra peanuts,” She sighed, looking back up at him, “Why—”

Before she knew it the guy had suddenly stepped past her and went into the restaurant. A few minutes ticked by before he stepped back out again, two whole bags full of food in his hands. He set a bag down next to her and smiled a big smile, watching as she looked at it before looking at him. Her eyes grew wide and doll-like, a look of surprise growing on her face as she slowly took the bag into her hands. 3 whole cartons of pad thai noodles, dinner style.

“I'm Danny by the way,” He said to her. She looked up at him with a bright grin, the tears finally long gone from her eyes.

“I'm Elliott,”

He looked surprised for a second before smiling again.

“Oh, Elliott? I like that!” A shy smile appeared on her face as she stood up. It only made him smile bigger. “You know Elliott is derived from the Jewish name Elijah.”

“Yeah?” She chirped, sniffling and wiping her nose, “Are you jewish?”

“Aaas hell,” He said with a big smile and a laugh. The small girl smiled warmly and giggled, holding the food bag firmly in her hands.

“Thank you Danny,” She remarked honestly, “I feel better I think.”

“Aw, I'm glad,” He replied with a grin, “Just keep your chin up, okay?”

She nodded lightly and watched as he reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped on the screen a few times before putting his back into his pocket.

“Wellp, my boss is sending me angry texts now, so I should probably head out,” He said with a giggle, “Are you gonna be okay? You need a ride home?”

She shook her head no, smiling as she pointed over to the corner “I live close by. The next street over.”

“Good girl,” He said with a nod of approval, “Never take rides from strangers. Especially tall ones with crazy colored hair.”

She chuckled softly as he reached over and briefly ruffled her wild hair. “Be safe, okay?”

“Okay,” she said with a small smile. He gave her a grin and held up a peace sign before stepping away. She watched as the guy with the wild mane of turquoise curls went back into the city crowd, her eyes falling to the back of his hoodie and the words printed across it.

_**FOLLOW YOUR STUPID FUCKING DREAMS** _

* * *

The sky was starting to turn a pretty rosy pink when Elliott decided to get home. She'd almost forgotten the original reason why she was out—if it weren't for the seagull that kept picking at the bag of food to remind her. The guys were still over at Geoff's, and they were still waiting on her— probably starving out of their minds, at this point.

The walk home from Del Perro Pier was more interesting than she thought. Sure, she was used to the nightlife crawling out from the shadows, occupying corners and dark alleys, sometimes in the trashpiles with needles sticking out in their arms, but she never truly got to take it in. The City was like a whole other world when the sun went down. All sorts of interesting creatures crawled out from the dark, pimps in colorful clothing, big beefy bouncers who lingered outside the strip clubs with cigarettes dangling out of their mouths. Men in large shirts and baggy jeans hung around in cliques, scouring the streets, flashing their respective signs at their rivals. Other men simply lingered around trashcans and leaned against walls, smoking and chatting with other scum or approaching women who were busy working the night shifts on the corners.

A few of the corners that weren't occupied by women on their grind were occupied men in black hoodies. They each stood at a corner relatively near each other, each of them having a different color of hair poking out from under their hood. The sight was odd to her, to say the least. She saw one guy with electric orange and green hair, another with purple hair, and another one with bright white highlights. They all had a fair amount of people coming up to them, the one guy with purple hair actually had a little line forming. When she walked past, she saw him shake hands with every person that came up to him, a swift exchange between money and a tiny plastic orange baggie being made.

When the purple haired dealer spotted her, he didn't give her a mean look or a crude remark. In fact he did the exact opposite. He smiled, and asked her what was up. She smiled and said 'sup' back, furrowing to herself as she walked past and turned the corner. That was pretty weird. Normally dealers wouldn't give her the time of day. She shook her head and shrugged it off, thinking it was probably nothing as she continued heading back toward's Geoff's place.

When she stepped back into the apartment, she was met with several bodies running towards her. A pair of tattooed hands belonging to Geoff firmly gripped her shoulders and held her in place. His blue green eyes were wide and tip-toeing on manic as he looked at her.

“Where the hell were you?!” His voice cracked, “Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!”

Her eyes went wide as he lifted her arms and suddenly turned her every which way, inspecting her from top to bottom for any injuries. “What are y—”

“You've been gone for hours!” Gavin yelped.

“Yeah! What took you so damn long?!” Michael added loudly, “The thai joint is literally around the fuckin' corner!”

The small girl wriggled out of Geoff's grasp and instead shoved the food bag in his hands.

“I went to the Thai Joint! I was busy!” She bit, marching her way back over to her room. Michael followed after her, the anger still clear on his face.

“Yeah? Doing what?!”

She turned around sharply, stopping mid march to look up at him with the same bitter look. “None of your damn business!”

Gavin's jaw dropped and he let out an audible gasp. Ray just held a fist up in solidarity from the couch, shouting out “fucking rekt!” before going silent as he played his 3DS. Michael ignored him and frowned down at her,

“You're not allowed to go out at night,” He said firmly.

“Says who?!” She bit.

“Says all of us! You're too fuckin' young!”

“Since when do you any of _you_ care?!”

“SINCE--!” He paused, his lips pursing and cheeks going red as he fumed in place. He took a sharp breath through his nose and leaned down to her level, pointing a firm finger in her direction. “You pull a stunt like that again and I'll kick your ass, you hear me?”

Her lips curled and she gave him a nasty look before looking away, mumbling something that sounded like 'fine'.

“Did you hear me?!” He repeated loudly.

“I said FINE!” She bit, turning around sharply to run back into her room. She ran past the door and turned around, staring at them angrily as she gripped onto the door, “You all SUCK!”

She slammed the thing shut. It made a noise so loud, it even made Ray jump and Ryan look up from his phone. Michael ran a hand through his rusty red curls in frustration, shutting his eyes as he tried to calm his thundering heart beneath his chest. Gavin slowly inched his way over to Geoff and took the food bag from his hands, digging in to grab his meal and retreat to his own corner of the room to eat in solitude. Geoff stalked over to the bar and swiped the bottle of whiskey off the shelf, opening it and drinking it straight before making his way out to the balcony.

Long after the boys left, Geoff was still out on the balcony with a cigarette and his bottle of Jack in his hand. The time on the digital clock above the movie theater read 2:30 AM. A half hour until 3. He would have to get to bed soon. He needed to sleep. He had a lot planned for the days to come. He couldn't afford to lose more hours. He snubbed out his cigarette and carelessly flicked it over the edge before going back inside. He huffed as he looked around the room, everything still remotely clean (minus the evidence of chairs not being pushed in by Gavin or pillows being knocked off by Ray). His heavy lidded eyes looked over to the right, over at the TV that was still broken with the remote sticking out of it. He let out a rough sigh and shook his head. He'd get to that in the morning.

He stalked his way over to the kitchen and was about to set the bottle of Jack down for good.

Then he heard sniffling coming from behind him.

He turned around and saw Elliott standing next to the island counter with a stuffed rabbit secured under one arm. She looked tired and upset. No doubt she was both.

“You okay?” He asked her. 

She shook her head. “I can't sleep.”

Her messy hair showed evidence of tossing and turning, her eyes were glassy with tears. She sniffled repeatedly as she stood there, just watching Geoff as he looked her over before sighing and turning around.

“Sit down,” He said quietly, his tone level, calm. She shuffled over to the counter and sat on the stool, hugging her stuffed bunny tight as she watched him. He walked over to the pantry and pulled out a package of Chips Ahoy's chunky chocolate chip cookies. He tossed them over to the countertop before stalking over to the fridge. He pulled out a carton of milk and then a tall glass from the cabinet, setting them both down on the counter before he turned back around and shut the refrigerator door with his foot. When he turned back to face her, she had already opened up the package and stuffed a cookie in her mouth, chewing with stuffed cheeks and tears still dripping down them. She wiped them away as fast as they came, her head lowering as she swallowed and sniffled.

“I'm sorry I yelled at you, and slammed the door, and said you all sucked,” She admitted quietly, wiping her teary eyes as she kept them lowered the floor. The kingpin's mustached lips twisted to the side before going back to pouring her a glass of milk. He set the glass down and slid it over to her, watching as she took it and dunked her first cookie in it. He poured the remainder of his Jack Daniel's into another glass and started dunking his own cookies in it as well.

“Sorry for yelling at you too,” He said quietly, casually biting into the cookie before dunking it back in. “Michael's sorry too.”

She scoffed, dunking a cookie in her milk before shoving it in her mouth. Geoff shrugged. “He is, though. Really. I mean he'll never say it to you, but I know my boys, and I know when they're sorry.”

Elliott hugged her toy tighter, her eyes falling to her glass of milk as she watched the little cookie crumbs sink to the bottom.

“I also know when they're scared,” She heard him say, earning her eye contact as she looked back up at him. “And Michael was pretty scared that something might've happened to you tonight.”

She furrowed a little, trying to picture a tough, angry guy like Michael actually being scared. He was scared? For her? Really?...

“When you're with us, you don't go out alone.” He said firmly, “It doesn't matter how smart you are, you're a kid, and you're a girl. If you'd have gotten kidnapped or—”

He paused, his eyes shutting briefly as he sighed. He opened them back up and looked at her, “There's a lot of sick people out there, kid...”

He pointed the cookie in his hand in her direction. “You gotta promise me you won't go out by yourself at night anymore. Not while you're with us...”

She stared at the firm look in her boss's eyes and could tell that he was being serious. He wasn't being threatening or even strict. He was genuinely looking out for her. He was being friendly. He was being...

She nodded lightly at him and took her glass with her freehand, raising it up to him. He looked at it for a second before scoffing, his lips forming a crooked smirk as he raised his glass and clinked it with her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Concerned Fake AH dads are my fuckin aesthetic, yo.  
> And speaking of Fake AH Dads, **CONGRATS TO MICHAEL AND LINDSAY ON THEIR NEW BUNDLE OF JOY!**  
>  Iris Elise Jones, aka Baby Mogar, aka Tiny Badass, was born yesterday at 11:15 pm.  
> It was honestly the best thing to wake up to this morning.  
> If you're not following Michael and Lindsay on Instagram, you need to right away. The baby pics are everything.  
> Thanks for all the love, you guys <3 xx


	10. Shopping Montage!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crew spends the day at the mall and take Elliott shopping.

When she woke up the next morning, she was surprised to see Ryan as the only one at the kitchen table. His hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and he was dressed in a loose grey t-shirt and dark jeans. It was oddly refreshing seeing him dress so casual.

He was reading the city newspaper when she walked up to him, his eyes glued to the section about Los Santos's crime problem, and the city's Chief of Police aimed to handle it. Certain gangs were creating a lot more noise than usual, and the look on Ryan's face let the girl know that he was getting concerned. She peered over his shoulder at the big photo of a building caught on fire, words painted in white on the brick wall just outside.

**KILL YOUR RAPIST**

**SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GIRL GANG**

“What's that?” She asked, reaching over his shoulder to point at the photo. He looked at it for a solid second before flipping the page.

“Kids were being taken off the streets and brought there by bad guys,” He said plainly, “Another crew intervened.”

She suddenly remembered the look on Geoff's and Michael's faces last night.

“And yes, in case you were wondering,” Ryan said suddenly, “This is why we were pissed off last night.”

A small smile crept across the girl's lips and she wrapped her arms around Ryan's neck, hugging him close as she rested her chin on his shoulder. He smelled earthy, like petrichor and musk with a faint hint of cigarette smoke. It was calming, and strangely nostalgic for some reason.

“You dweebs,” She chuckled lightly, “I'm okay now. And I promised Geoff I wouldn't go out alone anymore.”

“Good,” He remarked, flipping another page to read about the drug and gun trade that was seeming on the rise.

“Do you have friends in other crews?” She asked him, looking at the photo of a group of men in black sweatshirts.

“Some,” he muttered as he flipped the page.

“What are they like?” She inquired, “Are they super dangerous?”

“Absolutely,” He answered.

“Can we meet—" She suddenly gasped, “Danny!”

He turned his head a little. “What?”

She pointed forward at the photo, her finger directed at the man on the far right. The figure was standing at the corner with his side facing the camera. His hood may have been up, but that didn't keep wisps of his wild sky blue hair from sticking out under it. She smiled brightly and hopped in place.

“That's Danny! I met him yesterday,” She chirped, her smile growing wider, “He cheered me up.”

Ryan looked down at the photo, his brows knitting together after some time. “Did you tell him who you were?”

The girl furrowed in confusion. “Wha?”

“You didn't tell him you were with us, did you?”

“N...No?”

The man went silent for a minute, his eyes glued to the photo. “If he you see him again and he asks, you don't tell him, do you understand?”

“Wh...Wh—”

“Elliott,” He really sounded like a dad now.

“Okay! But—Why?” She asked out, “You guys are the most dangerous crew in the world. He's just a dealer.”

“He's not _just_ a dealer, kid,” He sighed, “He's part of a crew. Our rival crew.”

Her stomach suddenly dropped. “R...Rival crew?”

He set down his paper with a sigh and flipped it over, clicking his pen and drawing a bunch of lines and rectangles.

“In terms of criminal hierarchy, there are four tiers,” He explained, drawing it out on the paper, “There's Crews at the top, then Syndicates, Gangs, and then Generalized Self-made Scum. i.e. pimps, junkies, dealers, dog-fighters, etcetera...”

Elliott looked down at the drawing, watching as he listed out the different crews before her.

“You're familiar with the gangs, right? Like the Vagos, The Families, the Azetc Kings,” He watched as she nodded, going back to writing over in the 'Syndicates' section, “In Syndicates, there aren't that many. There's plenty of underground traffickers and dog fighters, but there's also The Heroes. The Heroes are neutral ground. They don't partake in any criminal activity unless it's aimed at bettering the city...”

“The Heroes,” She quoted, trying to picture what on earth they might look like. All she could picture were grown teenage boys with their underwear outside their tights. “Who's the leader?”

“In terms of crews, there are only 3 that you really need to worry about,” He went on to say, ignoring her question as he scribbled down the names, “Smaller crews like FakeHaus and FakeChop don't need to be on your radar. There's us, the Fake AH Crew, and then there's our rivals: the Steam Train crew, and the Girl Gang.”

The 13 year old's brows raised at the sound of their names. She'd heard of the Girl Gang before (albeit from LSPD officers as they spoke obscene things over the radio she'd hack into), but she had never even heard of the Steam Train Crew. Who on earth were they?

“The Steam Train Crew pushes high-grade marijuana and weapons throughout the city,” He explained further, “It's run by a guy named Ego.”

Ego. Such a strong street name, she thought to herself. That was the crew Danny was a part of? Was he a leader? Maybe he was Ego. Regardless, he was awfully nice for someone being part of such a dangerous crew. Then again, she could have said that about anyone in the Fake AH Crew...including Michael, despite his temper, of course.

“The Girl Gang is an all-female crew that isn't as hellbent on fucking things up for everyone as we are,” He informed while he pointed down to their name, “Regardless, they still fuck things up and leave no traces after. Their two biggest charters are here and over in Tokyo, both being run by a chick who calls herself Mortemer.”

“Mortemer,” She quoted, smiling at the sound, “I like that name. Mortemer. Mortemer!”

She made finger guns and imitated shooting sounds before making an exploding sound.

“Elliott,” He called, drawing her back into the conversation with a firm look on his face. “This is serious. No one can know that you're the hacker. The whole underground is looking for you. They're terrified of you. If anyone outside our crew finds out, it'll be war.”

The girl's stomach dropped at the thought of war. The last war to come through the streets was back when her parents were still alive, and the way they described it was terrifying. The serious look on Ryan's face only made it worse. If she wasn't careful, a lot of people could get hurt.

She swallowed hard and nodded obediently. “I won't tell.”

He gave a small nod of approval. “Good. Now get dressed,” He folded up the newspaper and set it back on the table, “We're going out.”

  
“Where are we going?” She asked as she skipped down the outside steps. Ryan put a cigarette to his mouth and lit it, taking in a long drag before exhaling out his nostrils.

“We're going shopping,” He answered as they walked up to his car. “You need some more clothes.”

He opened up the passenger's door for her and she slipped inside, a confused look on her face as he shut it and walked over and got in through the driver's side. She put on her seatbelt and watched as he started to turn on the ignition.

“Seat belt.” She chirped, watching as his eyes flicked over to her direction. He nibbled on the filter of his cigarette for a second before rolling his eyes and finally putting on his seat belt. Once he had it on though, he peeled right out of there and sped down the street towards the shopping center.

The downtown mall was a huge establishment with lavish décor and tons of stores that she could barely afford to take a step in. Everyone who shopped here was a celebrity of some kind, and if they weren't, they certainly lived and shopped like one.

“So what can I get?” Elliott as she looked around the complex of shops and winding walkways.

Ryan slipped out his phone and started texting someone. “You've got up to 4500 to spend." 

“4...45—are you serious?!” She squeaked, her eyes growing wide. “That's a lot!”

“Yeah, well, talk to Geoff if you've got a problem,” He remarked, looking away from his phone to look at her, “Do you got a problem?

“No, no, I'm fine,” She assured, the smile still growing on her face. “4500 big ones. Wow...” She looked back up at him. “Where should we go first?”

Ryan then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. “Geoff gave me a list. He says we need to get you dresses, underwear, casual wear, fitness wear for training, a backpack, a duffel bag, a phonecase, some socks...”

“Don't forget shoes,” A voice suddenly spoke from behind him. Ryan turned around sharply and let out a noise, jumping when he saw Geoff smiling and chuckling impishly. Elliott looked past him and saw Gavin, Ray, and Michael not too far behind. All of them were dressed out of their usual heist attire and wearing far more casual clothes.

Gavin's hands were already full with shopping bags when he walked up. “Man, all this talk about shopping's really got to me.”

“Yeah, no shit,” The redhead chuckled with a shake of his head. “You're gonna be broke by the time we fuckin leave here, Gav.”

“I will not!” The brunette huffed, “I told you, I can control myself!”

“Guess how much his ass has spent so far,” Michael asked, looking over to Geoff and Ryan as they shrugged. “Over 16k!”

“Gavin!” Geoff yelped.

“What! I only bought 3 things!” He yipped with a cheeky grin on his face.

“That's even worse!” The boss griped, his voice cracking in the process, “Holy shit!”

The others chuckled quietly around him, shaking their heads as Gavin attempted to prove that the money was well spent. He showed Geoff the shirt and pants he bought along with a new pair of sunglasses. The man with the mustache looked about ready to hit him. Instead, he rolled his eyes and shook his head, swearing that he was gonna give the brit smaller cuts during heists from now on.

“But why, Geoff!” Gavin yelped as they walked into a Nordstrom store.

“Because you suck at saving your money!” Geoff retorted, shaking his head a second time when he looked down at the bags in the brunette's hand. He sighed loudly and walked up ahead to catch up with Elliott and Ryan. They were over by the shoes, and the 13 year old was looking at them unfavorably.

“I don't like wearing shoes,” She huffed as she folded her bony arms.

“Well you're gonna wear shoes,” Geoff insisted. He signaled over to an employee who was just finishing up with someone else, “I'm sick of you tracking dirt in my place. The upkeep on the floors are expensive enough as it is.”

The girl wrinkled her nose and silently started mocking him the minute he looked away. When he looked back, she smiled and turned around sharply, pretending to be interested in the shoes. She looked over to her right and saw Ryan smirking at her, the man shaking his head before flinching as Gavin suddenly nudged him.

“Rye Bread! There's a bird over there whose looking at you,” He mumbled quietly. He pointed a thumb over to a pretty brunette woman in the makeup section. She was indeed looking at him. She was _still_ looking at him. The minute Ryan looked at her she perked up and looked away, trying hard to look like she was busy. The action made Ryan smirk a little. It quickly fell though, when Gavin gave him a cheeky grin and wiggled his brows, going “Eh? Eh?”

The sandy blonde just shifted away and mumbled something along the lines of “busy” before walking up to Elliott. Gavin huffed and said something about him being a total stick in the mud before walking away to check out suits. Ryan didn't seem to bothered by it. Instead he just went up to the small girl and started ushering her towards the try-on area for the shoes.

* * *

After an hour and a half of trying on practically every shoe in the store, the 13 year old had finally narrowed down her favorites to a pair of jelly sandals, some converse, a pair of TOMS, and a pair of slip-on vans (per Ray's recommendation of course). Geoff went and bought all four pairs for her before he went insane and quickly pulled her into the next store. Elliott wasn't terribly used to Geoff's expensive taste, nor what the high-end world had to offer for such high prices. The kingpin just kept assuring her that she was getting the best, but the girl couldn't help but still feel unsure about it all. When they stopped in Moschino tough, she couldn't deny that some of the clothes looked pretty and comfy. Chanel had nice smelling perfume and pretty jewelry, even though she didn't wear either (minus the earring studs she'd been sporting since early childhood). Louis Vuitton had a pretty store with suitcases that ranged from small to being big enough to stuff her entire self in. What took the cake for her, though would have to be a tie between Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. She was always a big fan of criss-cross-stripes (to which Ryan corrected her and said it was called 'plaid' or 'tartan'). Both stores were chockful of them. She ended up going overboard in both places, getting flats and dresses and tops and slacks. Geoff's grip on her assigned wardrobe soon fell apart as the joy and stimulus from shopping finally settled in and consumed her. She was hopping from store to store faster than Geoff could have the card swiped. Michael was finally able to wrangle her up after she swiped a pair of cowboy boots off the shelf and placed them on the checkout counter. Geoff looked down at it before looking at her.

“And what the hell are you gonna wear with these?!” He asked, watching as a cheesy yet pleading grin stretched across her face. He sighed and rolled his eyes before handing over his black card to the clerk, not even bothering to look at the price as they rang it up. Instead he looked down at the beaming 13 year old and gave her a knowing look. “You gotta think about your outfits more. You gotta look presentable.”

“I know,” she chirped, reaching over to point at the boots. “I like these though!”

He scoffed loudly, “Yeah well _you better,_ for how much these cost.”

The employee across the counter snickered and handed her the bag. “Here you are. Enjoy!”

Elliott took it with a cheery “Thank you!” before scampering off to meet Ryan and Michael outside the store. Geoff took his card back from the Salesman behind the counter and sighed.

“Thanks,” He said earnestly before taking the receipt.

“No problem,” The clerk chirped, tilting his head in Elliott's direction, “It's kinda refreshing seeing you spend time with her. The dads who usually come in here are a bunch of business stiffs who only see their kids one day out of the year.”

Suddenly hearing the word “dad” and “kid” in the same sentence together made his eyes widen and his head quickly shake. “Oh, sh-she's not—”

“Michael! Did you see my new boots?!” He heard the girl chirp from behind him, “They're cool, right?”

“Yeah, cool,” He heard Michael mutter, sounding anything but convincing.

Geoff let out a sigh and thanked the guy again before leaving. They shopped around a few more stores before heading down to the food court where Gavin and Ray (unsurprisingly) were brooding at. Gavin sat across from the man in the purple hoodie with a lopsided grin on his face. He watched as Ray strategically built a tower of chicken strips and onion rings, his phone already out and recording his progress. When the others walked up to him Ray had already started dumping cups of 1000 island campfire sauce on the very top, watching with pride as it oozed down like lava on a volcano. Gavin snapped a picture of it on his phone, chuckling that there was _no_ way in hell that Ray was going to eat all of it. Ray just smiled at him before looking back at the tower, his eyes only a light source away from sparkling.

“ _Challenge accepted_ ,” He whispered. Elliott clamored up onto the seat next to him and stared at the tower with a smile on her face.

“It's beautiful,” She gushed, “Like a tower of golden fried goodness.”

“It's the tower of pimps,” Ray called it.

“More like the tower of heart disease,” Ryan scoffed as he pulled up a chair, “Ray, you're gonna literally die if you eat all tha—“

“Yolo!” Ray chirped as he started digging into the tower. Gavin snapped a picture and started chuckling loudly, the others just shaking their heads with easygoing smiles on their faces. While the boys were busy watching Ray stuff his mouth, Ryan frowned and looked around for a second. They were short one body.

“Uh, guys?” He called over everyone's chatter at the table, “Where's the kid?”

 


	11. Heart You! <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day out in the mall starts to take a bad turn. Who knew wandering off would create some massive damage.

Elliott looked around every which way as she stepped out of the elevator. The second floor had a lot of salons and makeup vendors, but also had a few cool-looking clothing stores. She wandered her way over to a small boutique where they were selling old-school games and collectibles. It was actually kinda cool. She was busy admiring a pack of old Yu-Gi-Oh cards when two people came up beside her to admire the collectibles. One of them was gushing over the Gundam figurine behind the glass case.

“I need this,” She heard one of them, a pretty girl with cherry red hair and glasses say, “I do. I totally do. If I don't get it, I may literally die.”

Elliott looked up and watched as the blonde woman next to her scoffed. “You're not going to die.”

“Yes I will! I'm getting it.”

“You have enough figures already! Your half of the apartment's starting to look psychotic.”

“I think you mean _beautiful_ and _fantastic_ ,” The pretty redhead in glasses chirped. “I'm getting it.”

Elliott looked up at the figurine in the glass case before looking back at the girl. She had such a vivid shade of red hair. She liked it a lot.

The pretty redhead must have sensed her staring because she turned her head quickly and looked back at her. The young teen immediately felt shy, but she spoke up regardless.

“I like your hair,” She chirped, earning a surprised look from the pretty redhead before she beamed brightly.

“Aww, thank you!” She gushed, her eyes looking up at Elliott's own bush of kinky curls, “I like yours with all the pretty colors in it. You look adorable.”

The spectacled girl turned to look back at her pretty friend with the platinum blond hair. “Doesn't she look adorable, Griff?”

The one she called “Griff” was a waif looking woman with blond hair shaved on one side and pretty tattoos all up and down her arms. She had a small piece of jewelry dangling from the center of her nose and a small sliver of space between her two front teeth when she smiled. Elliott found it stunning.

“Yeah, I love that you used all different colors,”

The 13 year old felt a blush creep up on her cheeks and she tried to keep from giggling.

“I'm Elliott,” She said with a proud grin, “Elliott Maxwell Zepoppo Westerdahl the 3rd.”

The redhead raised her brows in surprise. “ _Goodness_ , a nice strong name.” She smiled, showing bright, pearly white teeth, “I'm Meg. And over there is Griffon.”

The woman waved lightly and bent down a little to get eye level with her.

“Where's your parents? You didn't come here alone, did you?”

Elliot shook her head. “Mm-mm. I came here with my friend!”

The tiny girl grinned and Meg couldn't help but giggle.“Yeah?”

“Yep. His name's Ryan,” She remarked, “He's a big stick in the mud though, so I kinda just wandered off.”

“Hmmm, that's not good,” Griffon pointed out, her tone still friendly and sweet, “Ryan's probably really worried about you, don't you think?”

Elliot's smile dropped slightly as she thought about it. It probably wasn't such a good idea to wander off like that. Especially after what happened last night.

Her lips twisted to the side as she huffed, “Yeah, I guess it's pretty bad, now that I think about it.”

“Tell you what, let's go find him together,” Meg offered, the woman standing up straight and holding a hand out to her, “Kay?”

Elliott looked down at her hand and noticed that she had pretty tattoos too. There was a skull with flowers in it's eyes on the back of her hand, and a tiny pixelated heart on her wrist. Her nails were long and painted a pretty reddish-brown, each one decorated with small gold studs in the center. She looked back up at the woman and smiled as she took her hand and held it gently.

“Okay..."

* * *

 

“So, can you describe what he looks like?” Griffon asked, handing the freshly baked pretzel she'd just bought from Auntie Annie's over to Meg. The girl tore off a piece and popped it into her mouth before handing it over to Elliott.

“Umm,” She tore off a piece and popped it into her mouth, briefly relishing in it's warm, freshly-baked taste, “He's tall? He's got blond hair. He wears it in a bun a lot. He's got blue eyes, and a reaally deep voice. He's also wearing a plain grey shirt and black jeans.”

She handed the pretzel back to Griffon and watched as she bit off a piece, an odd look suddenly washing over her striking face.

“Okay,” She said through her full mouth. The early teen frowned before she felt Meg gently grip her hand.

“Elliott, can I ask you something?”

The small girl looked up at her and nodded, a beaming grin stretching across her round face. Meg smiled back lightly and stopped walking, still holding her hand as she knelt back down to get eye-level with her.

“Are you with him because you want to be, or is he making you?”

The girl's beaming grin faltered, her brows knitting as she processed the question.“...Wha?”

Meg still looked at her with a sense of calm and softness, but there was something firm and determined behind her hazel eyes. “Did he tell you anything strange? Like, 'oh, your family told me to come get you', anything to make you go with him?”

Now it was starting to click.

“H-He didn't kidnap me!” Elliot chirped, an uneasy laugh escaping her mouth. Her stomach started dropping and twisting at the same time. “I don't have parents! I-I-,”

“Honey, if he did anything, if he's holding you against your will, we can help,” Meg insisted, still gently holding her hand and calmly stroking her small knuckles with her thumb. She could feel the girl shaking, her palms growing warmer, her big, round eyes darting every which way as she avoided eye contact.

“He's not!” She assured with a shake of her head. Meg just continued to stare at her. “I-I promise! I'm just—why would you think something like that?!”

“Because there is no reason for a sweet girl like you to be caught up with the Fake AH Crew,” The woman answered. Elliott's stomach dropped and twisted into knots, Ryan's words echoing in her ears.

“ _No one can know that you're the hacker Radical Elliott,_ ” He warned lowly in her eardrum, “ _If anyone outside our crew finds out, it'll be war._ ”

She swallowed hard and looked up into Meg's concerned eyes. Her little heart was racing behind her ribcage. She had to be smart about this.  
“I-I um,” Her voice shook along with her hands. She balled them into fists, sniffling as her eyes started to well up with tears, “I-I just...I'm..”

She watched as Meg and Griffon's expressions softened. They knelt down to her level, gently patting her shoulders and rubbing her back in comfort.  
“Oh honey,” Meg cooed, Elliott's whimpering increasing as tears spilled down her cheeks. “Shhh, it's okay. We can help. We'll help you.”

She gave the tiny a girl a hug and held her close, Elliott hugging her back and burying her face in her shoulder. The 13 year old shut her eyes and let out a small, shaking sigh. She smelled nice, like flowers and fruit and honey. It was such a comforting scent, so different from the scent of cigarettes and spice and sweat like she was used to with the guys.

“We'll get you out of this, we promise,” Griffon assured, smiling lightly as she held out a hand. Elliot reached out to take it, but stopped when she heard a familiar voice sound behind her.

“Elliott,” The voice called, his tone firm, and slightly paternal. The 13 year old turned to see Ryan standing there with a few extra shopping bags in his right hand. He tilted his head slightly, pointing back towards the food court where the others were waiting.  
“C'mon,” He said plainly. The small girl moved for a split second before being stopped by Meg's hand placing itself on her shoulder. The young woman stood up straight and narrowed her eyes over at the dirty blonde.

“What do you want with her, Ryan?”

The man looked at her, his eyes narrowing back as well. “It's none of your business, Turney.”

Elliot opened her mouth to speak, but the red haired woman beat her to it. “There's no reason she should be with you or the Crew! She's a child!”

“Just mind your business, Meg!” He bit through grit teeth. “It doesn't concern you.”

Elliott suddenly felt herself being spun around, her big brown eyes looking up at Meg's hazel ones.

“Sweetie, listen to me,” She said sternly, “Ryan is _dangerous_ , he's sick. He's done things to people that no human with a heart would ever d—”

“Megan, I swear to _God_ ,” Ryan warned lowly, stepping forward this time with his expression going dark, “Don't make me shoot you.”

The firey-haired woman shot him a deadly look. “Try it, _asshole,_ ” She hissed.

“Meg,” Griffon called firmly, gently taking her arm and pulling her back a little. “Back off...”

The girl with the firey red hair glared daggers at Ryan before looking back at Elliot. She smiled warmly before turning to dig into her purse. She pulled out a sparkly pen and knelt down, carefully taking Elliot's hand and scribbling on her palm.

“Here's mine and Griffon's numbers,” She explained, “Call either of us if you need anything, alright?”

She finished writing and kissed the girl's palm gently, leaving a cherry red lip mark behind. The tiny girl looked down at it and smiled before looking back at her.

“Okay,” She remarked, stepping into her waiting arms, “Bye Meg.”

“Bye sweetie,” She cooed, giving her a firm hug and a kiss on the side of her head. Ryan's eyes narrowed, watching as her lips lingered against Elliott's ear for longer than he'd like. The teen didn't seem phased by it though, she just smiled lightly and walked over to hug Griffon. The woman gave her a firm hug and kissed the top of her head, telling her to be good before letting go. Elliott nodded lightly and waved them both goodbye before walking off with Ryan.

They didn't say a word to each other in the car. Ryan just kept his foot on the gas and sped down the road, weaving around traffic like he always did—like a complete maniac. He ignored everyone's honking and swearing as he said fuck all to the rules of the road. He was too frustrated to pay attention. His mind kept wandering back to his encounter with Meg and Griffon. Oh, how he wanted to pick her off. If it weren't for the fact that someone in his crew was completely head over heels for her, he would've loved to just unload a clip into that annoying, condescending expression of hers.

“Ryan,” He heard Elliott peep softly, “I—”

“Don't talk to me,” He grit. He hearing her talk only made things worse. If it weren't for her, The Girl Gang wouldn't be meddling in the first place.

“B...” He heard her start. He took a sharp breath through his nose. Don't do it, he thought. Don't.

“But—”

Don't.” He warned.

“But I—”

“I SAID DON'T!!” He barked out suddenly, making her jump in her seat as he suddenly hit the gas peddle. Before he knew it, the front end of his car smacked into something hard and the two of them launched forward a little before violently falling back into their seats. Elliot flinched and curled up with a cry, her mouth dropping in shock as the car in front of them honked bloody murder before someone came flying out of the driver's seat.

Ryan undid his seat belt and started to get out, but not before reaching into the glove compartment to grab his handgun. Elliott watched with wide eyes before frantically getting out of her seat, scrambling after him in attempts to stop him. She was met with the tall blonde standing practically chest to chest with a burly man in a white tank and dark jeans, his face completely neutral as he was practically spat on by a man turning red and purple with anger.

“ARE YOU FUCKIN' INSANE?!” The guy barked, throwing a hand towards the traffic light ahead of them, “IT'S A RED LIGHT YOU FUCKING PRICK! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK—”

Ryan didn't even hesitate. His nose wrinkled and his expression turned into something most fowl as he reached into the back of his jeans. He just snarled at the man before pulling out his pistol and pointing it into the guy's thick chest. Elliott's eyes widened and she immediately lunged for his arm, trying her hardest to pull it down and failing horribly.

“RYAN!” She screamed out, her eyes flinching shut as she heard the gunshot crack and the body thud and fall over to the ground. The passenger in the car screamed bloody murder and rushed right out. Ryan pointed over to them, barely moving a muscle as Elliott pulled at his arm over and over.

“Stop it!” She begged out, “RYAN STOP IT!!”

He shot the guy in the back and watched as he toppled face down into the dirt. Passerbys in the street ran away in all different directions, all of them screaming as they tried to flee the scene. Ryan just kept shooting down everything that came into his sights. He couldn't hear the bullets coming out. Everything just sounded muffled, like there was something flooding his eardrums and he couldn't clear it up. He couldn't hear them scream, he couldn't hear anyone cry. He couldn't hear Elliott cry. But when he looked down, he saw her terrified, tear-filled eyes and her tiny hands practically clawing at his arms as she tried to get him to stop.

“STOP IT! PLEASE!!!” She shrieked, her voice cracking into a loud sob as he finally ceased firing and lowered his gun. She finally stopped prying at his arms and instead brought her hands to her face, sobbing her eyes out as her entire body shook.

And like that, the flooding sound slowly stopped. Now it was replaced with the pattering of his own heartbeat, and the shrieking sobs from the 13 year old in front of him. He took a step forward and she immediately took a step back, still sobbing as she shook her head. He took another step and reached for her arm, only to have it be slapped away as she screamed no.

“Stay away from me!!” She shrieked out, turning around sharply and making a break for it.

Ryan didn't bother running after her, he just stayed there and watched her run away with the fearful crowd. He tilted his head a little and kept his eye on the back of her head, his pistol slowly raising as he aimed it at her. He closed one eye, and focused as he put his finger over the trigger.

“ _Bang_.” He whispered lowly, before she officially disappeared into the crowd.

The flooding sound came back when he walked back into Geoff's apartment and was met with frantic questions and angry expressions. He couldn't hear a single thing as he came in and set the shopping bags down on the table. Geoff was trailing alongside him, his tattooed arms flailing as he pointed over to the new TV and the latest news report on screen. There was a shot of his totaled car next to a puddle of blood with the words 'ROAD RAGE GONE DEADLY' scrawled across. Gavin kept pointing over to the screen from the couch, turning around occasionally to yell something before looking back at it.

Geoff suddenly suddenly blocked his view, his face was turning a shade darker than pink with veins popping out of his forehead. He was _pissed_. He held up his cellphone, his mouth moving a mile a minute as he pointed to the text he'd received from an unknown number.

**I QUIT.**

**GOODBYE.**

Ryan's eyes roamed over the text before he turned away and headed for the bathroom. His leader continued to trail after him before finally being stopped by the bathroom door as Ryan shut it in his face. When he finally made it over to the sink and turned on the faucet, the flooding sound stopped once again. He could hear the rushing water, and Michael and Geoff's yelling in the other room. He could hear himself breathing, and his heart beating inside his chest. He looked up and directly at himself in the mirror, staring into pinpointed pupils and the numb expression on a face he didn't recognize. He furrowed a little before opening up the mirror cabinet, fishing around for a bit before finding some black face mask and rubbing it around his eyes. He stared at himself the entire time—a man with manic, bright blue eyes staring back at him. This man was deranged. He was sick. He wasn't human. He was a machine with faulty wires and coding. He wasn't human. He wasn't human.

 


	12. She Strikes Where it Hurts!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliott does the unthinkable, and the Fake AH Crew isn't having it.

“Is he alright?” Gavin asked, briefly looking down at his iWatch before looking back at the bathroom. “He's been in there for a half hour.”

“Oh who gives a shit,” Geoff growled, the man pacing back and forth across the room. “We're down one hacker because of his crazy ass.”

“He could've at least _waited_ a day or two before scaring her off,” Michael huffed, furiously tapping on the controller as he played against Ray in Call of Duty, “I mean we just spent all this money on the brat! What the hell are we gonna do with all that shit?!”

He briefly tossed an arm over to the guest room and Geoff looked over at it. A crappy, handmade sign reading 'CONGRATS ON UR FIRST HEIST' was hanging over the doorway, the door itself half opened to reveal all her gifts nicely wrapped and stacked around the room. Seeing it only made him more frustrated. He spent all that money on wrapping paper, and all that time bossing Ray, Michael, and Gavin around in getting them to wrap the gifts...

Just then, the bathroom door opened up and Ryan walked out. His cheeks were streaked with faint hints of black, and his eyes were red from being rubbed at too hard. The kingpin huffed at his appearance. He'd forgotten to use soap again. He always forgot to use soap.

The whole room went silent when he walked out. They all just stared at him, watching as he stalked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He pulled out a can of diet coke and opened it up, chugging it down in what looked like it would be one go. Gavin's green eyes widened as the dirty blonde tilted the can upwards and continued to chug, his throat casually bobbing up and down as he guzzled down the liquid before officially stopping. He let out a quiet sigh and crushed the can in his hand before tossing it over to the recycling bin by the sink. He didn't say a word after that. Instead he just slinked back over to the guest room and shut the door behind him, mumbling something that sounded like “dibs” before he shut the door and turned out the light.

“I fucking hate him like this,”

“Yeah me too,” Gavin whimpered, “He's so creepy when he's like this. I feel like he's gonna carve out my kidney in my sleep.”

“Hey, don't jinx it,” Geoff remarked, getting out his phone and scrolling through his contacts. He pulled up Ryan's name and sent him a message before shoving it back into his pocket, looking up at the rest of his Crew as they continued to dick around in his house.

Ryan shut his eyes as he laid across the mattress, not bothering to clear off all the stuffed animals and new gifts that occupied the bed with him. Instead he just laid here, his arms spread out and his eyes on the ceiling above him. He couldn't get the image out of his head. The way she looked at him, like a child living in their worst nightmare. She _was_ a child, though. And he _was_ a nightmare. It was only a matter of time. There was no way a kid as young as her could ever be one of them. She was still young, and she was still innocent, which was more than what he or anyone else in this crew could say. It was better this way, half of him said. It's better now. Things can go back to the way they were. You don't need her.

But you did, the Other Half reasoned. You did need her. You do. Geoff had big things planned. He needs the kid to help carry them out.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He reached in and pulled it out, looking at the message on screen.

_**New objective.** _

_**Fix it.** _

* * *

Back at the shelter, things were no different. The kids were all playing around, doing their own thing while Elliott slunk away and hid in her lair. The others wouldn't see her for days at a time. Whenever one of them went into her room to check on her, they'd find her hunched over in the middle, furiously tapping away on her computer. Her face was deadpan as she worked, her eyes covered with her custom goggle specs plugged into her computer. The kids couldn't reach her, no matter how much they called to her or waved in front of her face. She was sucked into a void of numbers and wires and computer code, and no one could pull her out.

A few weeks later, there was a soft knock at the broken down door and Carlos peeked inside, looking over at Elliott with that dead expression and those goggles over her eyes. He swallowed hard and walked into the room, a plate of cookies and a glass of milk in his hands.

“El,” He called softly, taking a seat down next to her as she worked. He set down the snack right beside her, his eyes falling to her fingers as they continued to tap across the keyboard.

“Ellie,” He called again. He reached over and gently tapped her bony knee, “Ellie, come on. You need to eat.”

No answer. Just more typing. He shook her knee harder.

“Ellie, come _on_ ,” He pressed, “Eat something.”

Again, no answer. She typed for a few more seconds before shaking her head. “Not hungry.”

“Bullshit,” He remarked, scooting the plate closer to her, “Eat. Now.”

“....One second,” She mumbled, her lips suddenly forming a smirk as she leaned closer to the computer screen, “I've almost got it...”

The older teen furrowed his dark, bushy brows and leaned over to see what she was doing. She had a black command prompt up and running with letters and symbols racing across. Behind it were several pages belonging to the Maze Bank website. When he leaned in and got a good look at it, his eyes widened and his jaw went slack.

There were five bank accounts in total, all of them with high numbers that were depleting fast. Meanwhile, a separate account on a separate page had numbers that were rising rapidly, before stopping at a whopping 55 million.

The 13 year old finally slid her goggles off and yawned a big yawn, stretching her bony arms with a grunt before looking over at Carlos with a lazy grin.

“All done now,” She chirped, reaching over to grab a cookie and taking a big bite, “Go on and tell the others. We're moving out of here, stat.”

“Whose money was that?” The teen asked, his head tilting over to the barren accounts onscreen. Elliott's grin fell and her eyes flicked over to the screen. She reached over and tapped the space bar a few times, exiting out of the websites one by one.

“No one's,” She answered simply, looking back over at the older teen and his wary expression. She just smiled warmly and shrugged. “It's no one's! I promise. Scout's honor.”

His dark eyes narrowed for a brief second before his lips formed a crooked smirk. He shook his head at her and suddenly reached over, tickling her sides as he shouted “ _mentirosa!_ ” over her high pitched yelps and giggles. The young girl squirmed and wriggled around, completely defenseless against Carlos's tickling. She swore on pain of death that the money only belonged to a bunch of lowlifes, and the 19 year old finally eased up on his tickling. The girl wiped her teary eyes and continued to giggle softly, even after seeing Carlos's smile falter and fall.

“In all seriousness though Ellie,” He spoke, “We all appreciate what you do for us, but you gotta remember that there's consequences for what you do.”

Now it was Elliott's smile that fell. She looked over at the dark haired teen as he sighed and scratched the back of his head.

“I don't mean to sound like an old fart,”

“But you're gonna just power through it,” She quipped. He reached over and nudged her arm.

“ _But_ , for every action there is a _reaction_ ,” He continued on, pointing over to her computer screen, “This is a lot of money you're taking. If these lowlifes find you...”

The very thought sent a cold chill up his spine. He couldn't stand seeing another kid killed after being caught up in the Los Santos lifestyle. Just the thought of seeing her chalk outline on the pavement...

“I just want you to be careful, okay?” He gently patted her knee and got up off the floor, “Lay low for a while after this.”

“...Kay,” She peeped, whining a little as he ruffled her wild hair before leaving her room, “Thanks, Carlos.”

“No problem, kiddo,” He said, the older teen held up the peace sign to her in solidarity before shutting the door behind him. Once she was alone, she slipped her goggles back on and dove back into the world of the internet. She swam past the social media sites and newspages that were all mentioning The Fake AH Crew's name. She avoided the articles mentioning the killing spree that Ryan had caused downtown only hours ago. There was no time to go over any of that. Now, it was time to look for housing websites. She was going to find the best place possible for her and the other slumdwellers to live. Somewhere nice. Somewhere with a pool. Somewhere where she could lay low for a while and be comfortable.

* * *

Ryan's eyes snapped open to the sound of Gavin yelling and something shattering against the wall.

“FUUUUUUCK!!” He heard someone cry out, the noise making him shoot out of bed and run towards the door. He grabbed the knob and swung it wide open, only to duck down as an expensive vase came hurdling towards his face. The object flew over him and smashed against the glass door that lead to the balcony behind him. Both of them shattered on impact. He stood back up straight and rushed into the living room, only to find everyone pacing around furiously and going crazy. Gavin was throwing everything he could find. Michael was pacing around with his phone attached to his ear, swearing up a storm at whoever was on the other end of the call. Jack was on the phone with someone as well, him sounding a hell of a lot calmer as he tapped away on his respective laptop. Ray seemed to be the only one unbothered by whatever was happening. The guy was busy at the kitchen table watching Steven Universe on his phone, munching away at a bowl of cereal.

Geoff walked out of his bedroom with a hard expression on his face and a burning cigarette dangling from his mouth. He hadn't bothered putting on his silk robe like usual, so he instead paraded around in just his boxers and a pair of Salvatore Ferragamo slippers.

“You listen to me,” He growled into his phone, holding up a finger at Ryan right as he was about to say something. “You find out whoever fucking did this and you FIX IT! FIX IT OR YOU'RE DEAD!”

There was a pause, Geoff's bright blue eyes manic as his face started turning color. Ryan's eyebrows raised. Now he _really_ wanted to know what was going on.

“NO _YOU_ RELAX!” Michael barked into his phone, his voice making everyone jump and look over at him as he paced around, “GET ME FUCKING BRIAN!”

He took a heavy gulp from his Red Bull and tossed the empty can over at Gavin who barely dodged it. “If you _don't_ get me fucking Brian, I'm gonna come over there, I'm gonna lock you in a fucking flotation tank and pump it full of sewage until you fucking _drown!_ ”

“What the hell is going _on_?!” Ryan asked, his voice barely audible over Michael's yells and everyone else's incessant chattering on the phone. Geoff finally pulled his phone away from his ear, a death expression on his face as he pointed directly at the confused blonde.

“You're fucking _dead,_ ” He warned lowly.

Ryan held his arms out and furrowed, “What the fuck did I do?!”

Michael finally pulled his phone away from his ear and pointed his finger over at Ryan as well. “I'm gonna fucking _punch_ you into paralysis. Just wait.”

“What the fuck did I DO?!” Ryan let out.

“WE'RE ALL BROKE YOU SACK OF SHIT!” Michael barked, “FLAT BROKE!”

Jack raised his hand from the kitchen table. “I'm not broke.”

“I'm actually richer,” Ray chirped.

“WE'RE ALL BROKE EXCEPT RAY AND JACK!” Michael repeated, his phone going back to his ear. “Hello?! Is this Brian?! Brian you rat fuck—”

Michael turned away and went back to his own (less than) private conversation as Ryan frowned and tried to process what he had just heard.

“Wait wait wait wait,” He spoke out, briefly pinching the bridge of his nose before looking back at his crew, “What do mean we're _broke?_ ”

“It's means we don't have any money, you bloody idiot!” Gavin griped, holding up his phone to show him his account, “We're broke! We literally have _zero_ dollars in our bank accounts!”

Ryan took the guy's phone and peered at the numbers. Sure enough, Gavin's checking account was set to zero. His 11 million was gone, with no record of it ever being taken out or spent.

“Wh...What the hell?” He quickly got out his own phone and pulled up his Banking app. The minute he tapped onto his Checking and Savings account, his eyes widened and his stomach sank almost 16 million feet. All of his money was gone. All of it. None in his checking. None in his savings. Gone. All 16 million of his hard earned cash just...vanished. His mind suddenly went blank, his stomach started twisting in knots, his blood started to boil. All he could do was open his mouth, and four simple words came tumbling out.

“Are you _fucking_ serious?!” He let out.

“Yeah! Now you know how _we_ feel!” Gavin griped.

“Who the fuck did this?!” Ryan barked.

“That's what we're _trying_ to find out!” Michael barked back, his eyes darting back to his phone, “Brian! Where the fuck are we on this?!”

Suddenly everyone started talking at once. Arguments and angry phonecalls and demands were being shouted left and right. When Geoff finally hung up his phone, he looked over to his livid crewmembers and shouted a loud “ALRIGHT!!” that made every one of them shut up and look to him. He took a much needed breath through his nostrils and pointed a tattooed finger in Ray's direction.

“Ray, I'm gonna need to borrow about 5 million from you,” He said sternly, “I'll pay you back in full once we get this asshole. Get the word out on the streets that 5 mill will go to whoever can bring me the dill-hole that had the sack to do thi—”

“There's no need for that, dude,” Ray said suddenly, picking up his phone to text someone, “I already know who did it.”

Gavin whipped around his seat while everyone else looked right at him with surprised faces. The guy in the hoodie just simply shrugged.

“You all were too busy throwing a bitch fit, you didn't hear me say that it was Elliott,” He pulled up the iPhone conversation and held up his phone for all of them to see. “She left me a text.”

Geoff stepped forward and swiped the phone from the man's hands, his eyes skimming over the text with Ryan, Michael, and Gavin reading over his shoulder.

**Dear Ray,**

**Thank u 4 being nice 2 me.**

**I quit the crew, but I hope we can still be bffs.**

**P.S. I saw ur Twitch stream last night. It was so funny! I donated the $$$ directly in your account.**

LUV U :D :D :D – ELLIOTT

“...That's it,” Michael said lowly, slipping his gun out from the back of his jeans and cocking it, “I'm killing that fucking kid.”

Gavin saw him make a beeline for the door, so he reached out and grabbed the guy's arm. “Michael, no!”

“Little fucker _stole_ from us, Gav!” Michael grit, tugging his arm away as he attempted to make his way towards the exit, “There's no fucking way she's getting away with this! She's gotta go!”

“She's just upset!” The brit reasoned, pulling the redhead away from the door, “You and Ryan scared her off and now she's gettin' back at us!!”

“Michael!” Geoff called out, his voice making the livid redhead stop in is tracks, “Get back here.”

Michael gripped the doorknob tight and huffed in frustration before letting go. He turned back around and looked over to his boss, his expression still firm with anger.

“I want my money back,” He made known, “All of it.”

“We'll get it back,” Gavin assured, “We will, boi. Promise.” He gave Michael a firm pat on the shoulder before looking back over at Geoff. “What you want us to do, Boss?”

The kingpin stared over at the desperate expression on Gavin's face and huffed in annoyance. He guessed the _moral t_ hing to do was to spare the kid's life _._ Gunning down kids wasn't their MO, after all.

The next best thing to do was probably what they did best. Doing what got them to where they were in the first place.

He slipped out his phone and started dialing Lester's number, turning away from the crew as he listened to the familiar ring and waited for the guy to pick up.

“Everyone get your shit together,” He said firmly, “We're going on a heist.”

 


	13. Got Ya!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliott and the Slumdwellers start a new chapter. Geoff and the Crew are getting ready to hunt down their money.

Once everyone had their gear ready (and Michael was a little more level-headed), the crew met back at Church. They were met with giant maps and blueprints of the city scrawled all over the giant meeting table. Gavin had put pins in several different locations on the map of the downtown area.

“Alright. My source tells me that homeless kids have been begging for change in these specific locations,” He announced, placing a finger on the places he pinned. “He also tells me that there's a higher concentration of them over here in Strawberry.”

Jack looked down at the map and quirked an eyebrow. “The Projects?”

“Exactly,” The brit said with a nod, “This place has the highest number of homeless youth and abandoned establishments known as 'Shelters' based on police records. I checked up on it and LSPD has been trying to raid them for weeks, picking up kids every now and then and tossing them into the foster care system.”

“So you think she's holed up in one of these Shelters?” Michael asked. Gavin gave him a firm nod.

“Went and scouted out the area myself,” He said as he pointed to a spot on the map, “The building my intel had told me about was cleared. There was no record of a raid, but all the evidence in the world that children had been living there...”

  
The place was an absolute shithole _within_ a shithole. The buildings around the neighborhood were barely standing, the roads were barely okay enough to drive on, and the people who occupied this neighborhood, well...It was clear to him that this was no place for a kid to grow up. It was almost hard to believe that a 13-year-old was able to emerge from the trash and the filth of this place and become the most dangerous force the city has ever encountered.

He scouted up and down the broken-down neighborhood on his purple motorbike—occasionally getting pursued for a few blocks by small children with sticks and bikes. All of them were just looking for someone to play with, but after reaching the 3rd block, they all started turning around and began hightailing it out of there. Gavin turned his head and looked back as kids started peddling away like their lives depended on it. This was slumdweller territory, he heard one of them shriek. If they went in there and got caught by police, they'd never be seen again. 

Gavin turned back around and looked forward, taking a much-needed breath before revving his engine. He shot forward into the neighborhood that got worse and worse the further he went. After going from house to house, and getting everything from death threats to fuck off's to doors slammed in his face, a man finally directed him to the Shelter...but only after receiving a quarter bag of kush in exchange.

The scrawny man rode his way over to the abandoned building that made the entire neighborhood, Ray's house, and a garbage dump all put together look like Disneyworld. The building was on a slant from faulty foundation and decay. Windows were either smashed in or boarded up, and the brick walls were tagged and stained with smoke and rust streaks. When he entered the abandoned apartment, he was met with absolute silence, and an unruly stench in the air that made him gag. He waded through the piles of old trash and dodged all the broken toys on the floor as he took in his surroundings. The inside was no better than the outside, the only difference being sure-fire evidence that children lived here.  There were old pillows and blankets scattered everywhere in the room—Along with dirty old coloring books with broken crayons and old kid shoes riddled with holes. The walls were tagged with every medium ranging from spraypaint to crayon and marker. They were like cave drawings; crude pictures of stick figures giving crooked smiles and animals that he couldn't make out if his life depended on it. There were words from the alphabet, math problems that were solved, and tic-tac-toe games with scores and competitor's names written right beside it. He held up a phone and snapped pictures left and right, capturing everything he could as he made his way through the place.

The first and second floors weren't anything too special. The 3rd floor had a big, spacious room with a broken down tv and a bunch of pillows scattered everywhere. The 4th floor was clearly the area where most of the children slept at, which was amazing to him, given that the wall around the front door had caved in, and the only way through was a giant, gaping hole on the wall into the room next door. He made his way through that way and entered through another hole in the wall on his right. He stepped into a sea of old, dirty blankets and pillows now either ripped up or being occupied by some feral rodent. He kept his lips pursed shut as he tried not to groan and gag. Instead he moved forward, ignoring the sound of crunching trash under his shoes as he stepped over to the door on the opposite end of the room. He looked up and saw a broken door barely hanging on its hinges, the front of it completely covered in scribbles and drawings in paint and marker. He furrowed lightly and looked up, staring up at an old wooden sign hanging above the doorway.

**_ELLIOTT'S LAIR_ **

He held up his phone and snapped a picture, a smirk stretching across his lips.

“Got ya.”

He tossed the photos down on the table and Geoff started sifting through them. He gave Gavin a nod of approval before turning around to pin them up on the board. He took a step back to observe everything they had so far, his arms crossing and his brows knitting together as he nibbled on the filter of his cigarette in thought.

“So all our money goes missing, and a genius hacker kid decides to duck out early....” He hummed.

“Where do you think she'll go?” Ryan asked, turning his attention over to Gavin, “You think she'd try and fly out of Los Santos?” 

Gavin shook his head.

“I've contacted my people in the surrounding airports,” He made known, “She won't be flying. Trust me.”

“Money's too good here anyhow,” Geoff added.

“Well considering she's up about 50 million, I'd say she's good on the fucking money situation right now,” Michael grumbled.

“So she stays local, and she has 50 mill in her pocket,” Jack surmised, shrugging and shaking his head, “Well then what?! She's not gonna stay in another shithole in the projects. Not while she's sitting on that much cash.”

“Maybe she doesn't buy a shithole,” Ray suggested, “What if she gets a new pad? Somewhere nice for her and the others to live?”

The other five all paused for a second in thought. That _did_ make a lot of sense.

“You think she'd do that?” Gavin asked.

Ray shrugged at him. “Why not?”

Michael furrowed and threw up his arms. “Well whose gonna sell a house to a fuckin’ 13-year-old?!”

  
“Well, I'm actually 19,” Carlos explained, chuckling nervously as he shifted in the leather seat. “A-And, well, our parents left us a huge sum before they both died...”

Elliott sat up in her seat and watched as a man in a grey suit and glasses skimmed through the pages of the file in his hand. Her eyes wandered from his caterpillar brows to his expensive cherry-wood desk. He had a coffee mug on top that read 'World's Best Realtor', and a picture frame beside it that held a photo of him and a pretty woman on their wedding day. He had another photo propped up on the other side. He was shaking hands with a guy with curly brown hair and glasses, both men smiling wide in front of the Los Santos Police Department. Her eyes traveled over to his gold and copper nameplate and read the words elegantly inscribed.

**Gustavo Sorola**

**RT Realty Company**

“Well, Mr. Vega, it seems everything here checks out,” He gave them a small, white-toothed smile. He closed up the file and set it aside, his eyes still locked on the 19 year old as Carlos sat up a little straighter. “I'm so sorry for your loss, by the way.”

Carlos smiled weakly and nodded before jumping slightly as the realtor clapped his hands together and rubbed them.

“But! You got a nice new house out of it, so it's not so bad, right?!” He chuckled a long chuckle before smiling over at Elliott, “It's got a big new pool, too!”

Elliott shifted in her seat and chuckled a weak chuckle before mumbling a small, “Yeah”. This guy was weird. Really weird. The Realtor stood up out of his seat and reached over to shake hands with Carlos before escorting them out of his office. The three of them headed over to upper end of Rockford Hills where rod iron gates, tall palm trees, and rolling hills were aplenty. Elliott peered through the car window as smoke and decaying buildings and broken pavement were nowhere to be found. There was only clear skies and green grass, and tall, expensive looking houses with big lawns and even bigger pools.

And the house Elliott had purchased (after much searching and debate with the others) was no exception.  A lavish, 1920's spanish style mansion brought forward into the modern age. With plush greenery, a huge pool in the back, and a large garden complete with a treehouse on the side. There were enough bedrooms inside the house for everyone once they doubled up. Young ones would have to triple. There was also a big game room, and an in-home theater complete with reclining chairs and a small popcorn maker.

When Elliott and Carlos pulled up to the house with the entourage of Moving trucks and Uber drivers, she almost couldn't believe her eyes. Large, rod iron gates opened to her and the slumdwellers as they pulled up, officially letting them leave the years of poverty behind them as they entered a whole new chapter in their lives. Their Realtor was already outside of the house with a bright grin on his face, his arms open wide as he welcomed the new homeowners to their own slice of paradise. The kids practically spilled out of the cars and immediately started scrambling for the front door. Gus quickly moved to the side and watched with a laugh as the small crowd began squealing and cheering in sheer delight.

“This place is HUGE!” Tamil squeaked, immediately taking her twin sister Neera's hand and rushing towards the upstairs.

“WE GOT A POOL IN THE BACK!” Roscoe yelled, several other kids screaming and cheering in response. The children scattered around like marbles, checking every nook and cranny and screaming to everyone else what they found. When Elliott stepped inside with Carlos and Gus, she could feel herself letting go of a breath she had no idea she was holding onto. She turned and looked around every which way, watching as others in her large, dysfunctional family ran around in utter happiness as they explored their new home. She reached over and gripped Carlos's hand tight, smiling as she took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy, satisfied sigh. She was home now. It was official. They were all home now.

“Aaand here are the keys,” Gus chirped, his voice snapping the girl from her thoughts as he handed over the set to Carlos. “There are keypads at every entrance to the house, and the codes are completely customizable. I suggest you get that out of the way first before anything.”

He then turned and pointed over to the front door. “Also had the liberty of installing Kevo smartlocks at the front and back entrances. They can only unlock by touch or by your smartphones.”

Both Elliot and Carlos's brows raised in surprise as they nodded in approval. The realtor nodded back before looking down at his watch and clapping his hands together.

“Well! That concludes everything for now,” He chirped, slipping out his phone soonafter, “I should be contacting you within the next week or so for some final touches, but other than that, you're all set!” He looked up from his phone and smiled another big, white-toothed smile. “Enjoy the house, guys.”

Carlos reached out and gave the realtor a firm handshake before thanking him. Elliott shook his hand as well before slinking off to go find her own room.

  
Only a week had passed by before the neighbors watched the lavish house on the end of the street turn into what could only be described as “an absolute fucking nuthouse.” The yard that was once clean and well kept was now littered with toys and bikes. The walls were covered with patches of chalk drawings and colorful paint. Kids were scrambling everywhere—in and out of the house, chasing after exotic pets, screaming at the top of their lungs. The older kids lounged around in the pool area, blasting loud music and cooking barbecues so big the smoke would create a haze that traveled from house to house. The complaints were stacking up against them, but the kids just brushed it off and went on with their hectic lives.

Breakfast was especially hectic. The table was covered in spilled cereal and crowded with large bowls of oatmeal and cut up fruit. Plates were stacked high with everything from pancakes to toast and waffles, bacon, and sausage. The kitchen was alive with everyone rushing around, some getting ready for school, others for another chaotic day of playing around. Elliott sat at the table scrolling through forum posts on her phone. She leaned back a little in her seat to let several arms and hands reach over her to grab food from the table. Carlos and a few of the big kids (Liyah, aged 19, and Milo,17) came in and took a seat, wedging themselves in between the 6 year olds and grabbing a plate.

“Okay guys, Saturday's free game for activities,” Liya announced, putting her braids up in a ponytail before grabbing a plate, “All of you need to decide which big thing you wanna do today. Milo and I are in charge.”

Tamil grabbed handfuls of oatmeal and slopped it on her plate. “We should go bike riding today!”

“I wanna go swimming,” Roscoe chirped as he grabbed a waffle off the table and fed it to his dog waiting patiently on the floor. Carlos looked up from his plate of scrambled eggs and passed it over to his right.

“Big Kids are having another pool party today at 3,” He announced, raising his voice so the others at the table could hear, “Age minimum is 18!”

All the younger kids let out a loud groan. The 18 pluses just smiled.

“We can go to the children's museum today,” Milo suggested as he grabbed a handful of bacon, “That sound good to everyone?!”

A few of the kids nodded while the others focused on wolfing down their meal. Elliott mumbled a small “fine”, too focused on the posts that were pouring in on her phone. After years of silence and basically thriving on rumor, Elliott finally made some noise. It was all thanks to the Fake AH Crew. They made their move, and now the black market forums were blowing up:

**FAHC puts a hit on a hacker.**

Word spread fast in the underground. No one knew who the hacker was exactly, but they all had a pretty good idea. Radical Elliott had targeted them, and Lazer was pissed off. The very thought brought a smile to the girl's face as she scrolled through the forum.

 **0094:/ >>** Any idea y daddy set up a grounding?

 **0083:/ >>** heard his lunch $$ was stolen

 **003G0:/ >** anyone know who

 **00111:/ >** word is he pissed off a bully

 **00111:/ >** named elliott

 **003G0:/ >** any contact info

 **0111:/ >** none. he ghosted.

 **003G0:/ >** damn

Elliott smiled lightly and closed out of the forum. The rumor that Geoff had put a hit on her should have made her sick to her stomach, but instead it made her feel the opposite. There was no way he'd let her identity slip. Like Ryan said, it'd be war in the streets. Still, she knew Geoff was up to something. It was only a matter of time, and she was eager to see how this power play would pan out. 


	14. Got Ya Back!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliott can't shake the feeling that she's being followed, so she calls in for back-up. A member from a Rival Crew is having their own suspicions about what's going on. Geoff and the Fakes are racing against the clock before things can get any more out of hand.

“He looks like a…Cinnabun,” Tamil opined, craning her neck back to get a better look at the full T. Rex skeleton. Elliott and the other kids nodded in agreement. Despite it's massive body hovering over them like a menacing monster, the name 'Cinnabun' just seemed to fit the late king of the dinos.

The rather large group of kids continued through the exhibit. They gave pet names to every dino skull and skeleton that they came across. Triceratops? Pointy. Mosasaurus? Chompy. Neera pointed at an old sketch of a Leoplurodon and named it Charlie. Elliott snapped a picture of the model stegosaurus skeleton and looked at the image on her phone. She frowned and used her fingers to zoom in. Someone standing on the other side of the femur was acting anything but casual. They were pointing a phone in her direction. She looked up and saw the guy still standing there, the phone still pointed right at her. He was blonde, slightly stocky, shaggy blonde hair cut short below the ears. The second he looked up from his screen his eyes went wide at her and he turned away. The 13-year-old frowned in confusion. What in the world was he doing?

“ **Target’s been located. Photos attached.** ”

The man typed rapidly on his phone. He went over to a secluded corner, turning his back as he sent the text. He got a reply soonafter.

**Good work, Kerry. Money’s been transferred.  
Keep tailing and see where she’s holed up. – Gavin**

The man smiled a satisfied smile as his bank sent an alert text. He was 50 thousand dollars richer, and there was more to come if he finished this job up right. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and turned back around, jumping when he saw that his tiny target was standing right in front of him.

“Fuck!” He let out, quickly clamping a hand over is mouth, “Shit—I-I mean, _shoot_.”

“What are you doing?” The girl asked him. She sounded more curious than annoyed.

“N-Nothing?” He answered, knowing deep down he sounded anything but convincing, “W-Why? What’s it to you?”

“You took a picture of me,” She made known, “Are you following me?”

“I didn’t take a picture of you, _kid_ ,” Kerry shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking past her. “Get back to your group before you get lost.”

“Geoff hired you, didn’t he?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Geoff hired you to follow me so you can kill me,”

Kerry stopped for a split second and flashed her a horrified look, “Why the fuck would I--?!” He immediately caught himself and started walking again, picking up his pace. “I-I don’t—No. Just no. Even if I was, I wouldn’t kill a kid!”

“Well why are you following me then?!”

“I’m not following you!”

“Yes you are!” She bit, matching his pace as she scurried after him. She followed him all the way to the Museum’s exit before the man stopped and turned around sharply. He stared down at her with firm eyes and suddenly Elliott felt small. He was dead serious right now. Still, she held her ground and stared up at him with angry eyes and a scrunched nose.

“Listen to me, _kid_ ,” He said lowly, “Go back to your group, and _stay there._ ”

Elliott folded her arms and all but seethed at him. “If I see you following me again you’ll regret it.”

She could tell the guy didn’t believe her. He thought because he was older and bigger that her words didn’t mean anything. But the scrawny teen was as dead serious as he was right now. If she saw him again, if he hurt anyone in her group and she found out about it, he would regret it.

Kerry scoffed down at her before turning around and leaving. Elliott’s eyes narrowed at the back of his head the entire time. Even as she got out her phone and started dialing a familiar number. She waited for only a few seconds before the person on the other end answered.

“Hi, it’s Elliott,” She chirped, “I need to talk to you. Can we meet?”

* * *

 

When Kerry left the 24/7, he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that he was being followed. He looked every which way as he walked down the street. Sure, there were people around, but no one seemed to be directly paying him any attention. When he looked behind him, there was no one except some stiff in a suit latched to his cellphone. He seemed to be in a heated argument with some investors. His whole conversation could be heard by anyone within a couple feet of him. The guy was way too busy to be paying Kerry any mind.

So why the hell did he feel like he was being followed?

The stocky blonde swallowed hard and gripped his grocery bag tight. If there was anything he learned by living here, it was that you should always trust your gut.

And right now his gut was telling him to haul ass.

The man picked up his pace as he walked. He booked it straight ahead before taking a sharp left into an alleyway. If anyone was following him, he would spot them instantly. He stopped and looked behind him for a second. No one there. He waited a couple seconds. A minute. Still, no one. He took a much-needed breath, mentally trying to calm his racing heart. No one was there.

He turned back around and jumped when he saw someone in front of him. He let out a loud gasp and froze up. A pretty girl with cherry red hair and thick black glasses stood propped up against the wall. She was dressed rather casually, sporting a baggy Overwatch shirt and shorts, old converse shoes, and black knee high tube socks. Her arms were folded around a Louisville Slugger bat that was decorated with scribbles and scratches. She smiled a toothy smile at him, casually chewing the gum in her mouth.

“Hey Kerry,” She chirped sweetly, “Sup?”

The stocky blonde felt his stomach twist and his throat clamp shut. He swallowed hard, trying his damndest to keep his muscles from visibly shaking.

“Meg! Hey,” He gave a shaky laugh, “S-Sup…”

He suddenly took a step back as she pushed herself off the wall and stepped forward. His eyes fell to her hand as it gripped at her bat. The sight of it made his stomach twist even more. He’d heard horror stories about that thing. Still, she kept it pointed downwards and used it to casually lean onto. That really didn’t make him feel any better.

“You know I heard this crazy thing from a friend of mine,” She remarked, “She told me that you were following her.”

“Wh-Whaaat?" He let out, mentally slapping himself at how stupid he was sounding, "Who? I’m not following anyone!” 

“I know right?!” She chirped, giving the man a shrug, “I told her she was crazy, I said ‘honey, why would a grown man be following a 13 year old?’”

Oh no. Kerry swallowed hard, trying his best not to look scared and failing horribly.

“But then something struck me,” She said thoughtfully, “This friend of mine, she was caught up with the Fake AH Crew recently, but then she got away...Now here _you_ are, a gun-for-hire currently under Geoff’s payroll…”

Kerry tried to think up an excuse, but his mind was drawing a blank. He couldn't take his eyes off her bat. The famous weapon that brought men of the underground to their knees. His mind started racing, images of bashed in heads and stories of broken spines plagued his thoughts. It was only when the pink bubble between her lips popped that he finally snapped out of it. 

Meg watched him closely tilted her head, “Why would she say that about you, Kerry?”

“I-I don’t know!" Kerry griped, "The kid’s probably nuts! I wouldn’t—”

“Kerry,” Meg sighed, clearly irritated, “Please don’t bullshit me. I’m gonna ask you another question. Think carefully about your answer.”

Kerry swallowed hard as the pretty redhead stepped up to him, her hazel eyes bright and menacing.

“What does Geoff want with the girl?” She asked, “What did she do?”

“I-I don’t know,” He answered, his eyes wide at her look of mistrust, “Honest! I swear! Please don’t—!”

He let out a yelp as she lifted her bat. He could see her thinking over a target, eyeing everything from his head to his nuts. That only made him want to shit his pants.

“Geoff just gave me the job to tail her! He wouldn’t say why!” He let out, “I swear! I swear! Please don’t hurt me!”

“Did he say anything else? Like what she did?”

“N-No! All I know is that he’s pissed! He got targeted by that hacker guy everyone’s scared of and he got his funds pulled out from under him!” He blabbed, “They had to pool their resources just to pay me! That’s all I know! Honest!”

Meg frowned at him. What did that have to do with trailing an innocent little kid?

“What the hell does Radical Elliott have to do with—” Suddenly a thought hit her, and she paused as soon as it clicked. “Oh… _shit_.”

“What?” Kerry asked, still confused, “What?!”

He let out a yelp as he was shoved forward, the end of her bat pointed square at his nose.

“You go back to Geoff and tell him you lost your tail,” She demanded, “If me or any of the other girls catch you following her again, you _will_ regret it.”

“B-But—”

“Kerry!” She warned.

“But I need to make ends meet! If I lose the tail I won’t get paid!” He griped.

She rolled her eyes with a frustrated a sigh and reached into her back pocket. She pulled out a hefty clip of bills and tossed it at his feet.

“Take it and fuck off,” She seethed, “And if I catch you or any of the Nomads near her, we _will_ kill you.”

The stocky blonde nodded his head rapidly and started walking away.

“Oh, and Kerry?” She watched as he stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, “Just for good measure—”

She held up her bat and took a single swing at his face.

* * *

 

“Kerry you fucking failure,” Michael sighed as he walked up to the fridge. He grabbed a bag of peas from the freezer and handed it over to Kerry. The man carefully put the bag up to his swollen eye and winced.

“Ow,” He hissed, hunching over as pain rocked through his head, “It’s not my fault! The kid must’ve called in a mugger or something.”

“You’re too bloody obvious!” Gavin griped, “I tell you all the time that you need to hang back.”

“Oh screw you, Gavin!”

“Enough!” Geoff bit, earning the Nomad’s attention, “You’ve been keeping track of her movements, right?”

Kerry gave a solid nod and offered up his iPad with his free hand. “Here. All of the places she’s hit up this week.” 

Geoff took the pad and scrolled through Kerry’s findings on the map. He pinpointed several locations, most of them in the northern Los Santos area.

“Gavin, you think you can draw up a profile of her comfort zone?”

The brit sighed and took the iPad from him, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good,” Geoff turned and looked back at Kerry, “You!”

“What!” Kerry yelped with eyes wide.

“Anything else you want to tell me?”

“No,” He remarked much faster than he would’ve liked. The kingpin stared at him and the blonde instantly regretted saying anything. He swallowed hard and shook his head.

“No _sir_ ,” He corrected, clearing his throat, “Everythi-Everything’s all nice and..reported.”

Shit. He thought to himself. Shit, shit, _shit_. What the hell was he even saying?! He pursed his lips shut and tried to act as casual as he could.

And he was failing horribly at it.

He suddenly felt a hand place itself on his shoulder and he jumped in his seat. Ryan immediately retracted it.

“Whoa, whoa,” The man soothed, “Easy, Kerry. Easy. What’s wrong?”

‘ _Oh god_ ,’ Kerry thought, noticing Ryan’s intent stare and that ghost of a knowing smirk on his face. He knows. They all know.

“What’s wrong, Kerry?” Ryan asked, “You wanna tell us, buddy?”

“N…” He swallowed hard and started getting up from his seat, “I-I should…probably go. I’ve had a bad day.”

He clamped up when he felt Ryan’s hands return to his shoulders, stopping him in place. Geoff waved a hand towards his seat.

“Sit down for a second, Kerry.”

Slowly, he returned to his seat. He felt his heart thundering behind his chest. The blonde knew he was fucked. Ryan’s smirk told him as much. The way Geoff paced from side to side told him too. He watched the kingpin rub his tattooed hands together in thought before stopping.

“You sure there isn’t _anything_ else you wanna tell us, Kerry?” He asked, “Anything at all?”

The stocky blonde tried to calm his racing heart and keep from shaking in place. “Come on, man, I-I told you everything! I—“

“Kerry, do you remember Caleb?” Geoff interrupted, sounding more thoughtful than pissed. The very question caused Kerry’s body to shake and the blood to drain from his face.

Oh fuck.

“Do you…remember Caleb?” The kingpin repeated slowly.

He gave a rapid nod, curling further into himself as Geoff stepped forward and leaned down to get eye level with him.

“You remember what Caleb did to me?” He asked pointedly, “How he tried to hold back things and screw me over? You remember what happeend to him?”

He gave another nod and his lips started to tremble. He felt his eyes starting to sting with oncoming tears and he did everything he could to keep them in.

“What happened to him?” Geoff asked, his head tilting ever so slightly, “Say it.”

“Geoff, I swear I—“

“SAY IT!” Geoff barked, snapping his fingers immediately after. Kerry let out a scream as his head was suddenly yanked back by a fistful of his hair. Sheer panic set in when he felt something cold and sharp press up against his throat.

“HE GOT KILLED!” He cried out, the tears spilling from his face as he felt the blade press harder, “He was left buried alive in the desert somewhere with his face bashed in and his limbs broken!”

“Caleb withheld information from me,” Geoff remarked, getting up in Kerry’s tear-stained face as he pathetically shook in his seat, “What the _fuck_ do you think me and my boys will do to someone who lies to my face?!”

“Wait no! Please!” Kerry begged, his voice cracking as Ryan yanked on his hair harder, “I don’t know anything! I DON’T! GEOFF! PLEASE!”

Geoff stood up straight again and readjusted his tie. “Ryan, slit his throat,”

“MEG GOT HER!” Kerry all but screamed the second he felt Ryan move, “M-Meg stopped me in an alleyway and told me if I ever tailed the kid again the Girl Gang would make me regret it! She whacked me in the face with her bat and left! That’s all I swear! I SWEAR!”

He started full on sobbing and whimpering as the blade left his throat. Ryan casually threw his head forward before giving him a solid pat on the back.

“There, there,” The man soothed, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Michael stood there with folded arms and frowned. “Wait, so the Girl Gang, they have her?”

“I dunno!” Kerry griped, his voice still shaking, “T-The kid she…she must have called them.”

“Fuck,” Michael huffed. He pulled Geoff over to the side and lowered his voice, “Do you think they know?”

Kerry sniffled and wiped his teary eyes on his sleeve before looking back at the crew. “Kn-Know wha—”

“Kerry shush,” Michael hissed, turning back to his boss, “Geoff, do you think they know? About her?”

The Kingpin’s eyes narrowed and he got out his phone. He started dialing Lester. “I dunno.”

“Well either way we gotta get to her before word gets out,” Gavin opined.

“Lester,” Geoff chirped as soon as he heard the guy pick up, “You still got a connection to the kid’s DS?”

“ _Well yeah, but she’s smart,_ ” Lester remarked, “ _So far she’s blocked me at every turn. Doesn’t matter what kind of proxy I use._ ”

“Ah shit,” Geoff grumbled. He heard the guy on the other end wheeze with laughter.

“ _Don’t get weepy on me yet, Daddy,_ ” He said smugly, “ _I know a guy. I’m talking deep dark corner of the hacker market. He might be able to help._ ”

“Yeah?”

“ _Yeah. Goes by the handle Axial,_ ” He made known, “ _Bit of a recluse. Not AS good as me I think, but who knows. He works from a different angle. He just might pull it off._ ”

“Get me a meeting,” Geoff demanded, “We need to shut this shit down now.”


	15. Axial v Elliott: Fight!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fake AH Crew take on Radical Elliott with a hit right where it hurts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> t/w: using programming words/Linux stuff that i barely know about. so there's that lmao *sweats nervously* (⊙ヮ⊙)///

The neighbors in his apartment knew him as Matt. He was shy, bit of a recluse, but kind nonetheless. He helped the older tennants with their groceries, and even fed the stray cat that would hang outside his building. Little did anyone know that on those days he spent holed up in his room, he was busy interacting with everyone in the hacker black market. There, everyone knew him as Axial. And they all knew to stay the hell out of his way if they didn’t want a nasty virus. He was the creator of some of the most devastating computer viruses in Los Santos. They were practically incurable. Big name companies would try to hire the best computer experts to protect their assets, but once Axial had a target, that target was destroyed.

After a quick stop at the Korean market (picking up his usual pack of honey-butter chips and dr. pepper), Matt made his way up the steps to his apartment. He started fishing through his pockets for his keys, ignoring the usual blaring of police sirens and the incessant yelling from the junkie couple on the fire escape. Right as he got out his keys he felt something gently nudge up against the back of his lower leg. He looked down and smiled lightly at the dirty fluffball of a cat that liked to hang around his building. The poor thing had to be less than a year old.

“Hey little buddy,” He chirped, kneeling over to give it a little chin scratch. The stray cat lifted its head and purred, indulging in the feel of his fingers hitting the sweet spot under its chin. The man smiled lightly and petted it for a few more seconds before standing up straight again. The little cat mewled and gently nudged its head against the grocery bag in his hand.

Matt shook his head and started unlocking the door. “Nothing today, kitty.”

The cat mewled again, this time louder. Matt nodded like he understood.

“I know I know, I’m trash,’ He remarked, “I promise I’ll get you something later. Lemme drop this off, first.”

The kitten gave another loud mewl and jumped at the sound of a door slamming from inside the building. Matt watched as the poor thing hissed and bolted off down the steps. The man turned and watched as one of the junkie couples came stomping down the steps in a hurry. The man had his coat half on and he looked crazed, like he was jonesing bad.

“Fuckin’ bitch,” he growled as he shoved past the man in the red hoodie. Matt took a step back and said nothing. He only slipped on his headphones and turned up the volume as he shut the door.

* * *

His favorite song pulsed through his ears as he stepped out onto the 5th floor. He bobbed his head to the beat as he walked up to 526. He knocked on the door a few times and set down the package of Dr. Pepper. He didn’t stop to watch the door open and the angry junkie’s partner poke his head out. Matt just kept walking, just barely catching the man peep out a small “Thanks!” over the sounds of AC/DC.

538\. Home sweet home. Casually Matt got out his keys and unlocked the door, not bothering to look at the extra bodies in the room as he stepped inside. He kicked off his shoes and walked over to the kitchen, gently headbanging to a sleek guitar riff from Iron Maiden along the way. He tossed his keys on the counter and went over to the fridge. He pulled out a can of Coke and some day-old Lo Mein before turning around to see Lester standing in the center of the room with somebody. The man wasn’t phased by it all. He simply opened his can of soda and started slurping it down, looking at the two men expectantly. Lester gave a cough and cleared his throat.

“Axial, hey,” He began, “I’ve got someone here I wan’t you to me—”

The man jumped as Matt let out a loud belch and paused. The hacker remained silent. Instead he wiped his mouth and continued sipping on his drink. The kingpin sized the man in the red hoodie up and down. Stocky. Mid-to-late 20’s. He sported thick framed glasses, a bushy beard, and shaggy shoulder-length hair with a relatively bad bleach job on the ends. The sight of it immediately reminded him of Elliott and her own bush of crazy colored highlights. What was it about hackers and hair dye?

Still, the kingpin held out a tattooed hand and smiled lightly.

“Axial,”

The man finally stopped drinking, pulled off his headphones, and set his can down on the counter.

“Lazer,” He said cautiously, not meeting to shake his hand but instead looking at Lester, “What can I help you guys with?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard by now what happened,” The nasally man remarked. Matt simply shrugged and made his way over to the other room. His special room.

“I’ve heard lots of things,” He replied simply. He opened his bedroom door and stepped inside. Geoff and Lester followed behind, and looked around curiously the second they stepped in. The room wasn’t terribly special. His walls were decorated with anime girls and video game posters. Empty food boxes and candy wrappers were littered across the wood floor. His bed lacked any kind of a bedframe in the corner. Instead it simply laid flat on the floor with a single pillow and blanket. The only real attraction was his impressive desktop setup on the opposite wall, complete with four computer screens and twice as many wires and routers.

Geoff couldn’t help but smirk at the sight of it. This is where the magic happened.

“Radical Elliott stole our money and tossed it to a bunch of slumdwellers,” He made known.

“They’re somewhere in the Rockford Hills area sitting on 50 million,” Lester added, “Geoff here wants to get it back.”

The bearded man nodded thoughtfully and looked over at Geoff. “So, you want me to break into their accounts?”

“Precisely,” Geoff said, “We want to find where they’re located, and then steal back the money.”

Matt nodded a second time, his lips twisting to the side in thought before he turned and walked over to his little computer hub. He pulled up his roller chair and plopped down. As soon as he was set, he pulled up a terminal window and started typing.

“Come back in a couple of hours.”

Geoff frowned and looked over at Lester. The man simply shrugged and started hobbling towards the exit. The kingpin didn’t budge.

“Wait,” He remarked, “Don’t you need more info on the—”

“Lester’s already given me the details on what I’m up against,” Matt insisted, his eyes glued to his computer screen, “If the guy set up a protective measure on their computer, I’ll slip past it. Come back in a couple of hours. And have your guys ready.”

* * *

Ray sat on the edge of Geoff’s pool rolling a joint between his fingers. His dealer treated him to some green apple flavored rolling paper, and he was eager to use it. While he was busy working on a tight roll, Gavin was sitting beside Michael, Ryan, and Geoff at the bar. Jack was busy mixing his famous Dark n’ Stormy cocktails for everyone.

“So what did the guy say exactly?” Gavin asked, watching as Geoff casually puffed on his cigar. The kingpin’s eyes were pointed straight forward. His face was content. He was thinking hard about something. He only broke focus when Jack served up his drink.

“He didn’t—Thanks Jack—He didn’t say much,” He remarked, “He said he’d get back to us in a couple hours and that I’d need you guys to get ready.”

Jack slid over a glass to Gavin and the brit nodded.

“So we—Thanks Jack—So we just sit here and wait?”

Geoff shrugged and nodded. He put the cigar to his lips and took a hearty puff, leaning back to exhale a silky smoke cloud in the air. Michael let out a heavy sigh and took a sip of his drink. He winced at the sharpness from the black rum followed by the bite of ginger from the gingerbeer.

“ _Fuck_ me,” He exasperated, “I can’t wait to get back to normal. The sooner we get our money back, the better.”

“Well we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Ryan,” Gavin pointed out.

“Oh fuck off, Gavin,” Ryan bit, taking his drink from Jack as he served it.

“S’true though, innit?”

“You really wanna go there, buddy? Do you _really_ wanna go there?” Ryan warned.

“Guys, drop it!” Michael let out, “What’s done is done.”

Gavin simply shrugged and shook his head before looking back at his boss. “So what’s gonna happen to her when we get our money back?”

No answer. Not right away, anyway. Gavin gave Geoff a worried look as the man continued to smoke and sip and say nothing in response.

“Geoff?”

Just then, Geoff’s phone started vibrating in his pocket and the kingpin picked it up.

“Yeah,” He said simply.

“It’s me,” Matt remarked on the other end, “I found what you’re looking for. Meet me at Lester’s.”

Geoff hung up immediately after and grabbed the ashtray from beside him. He smothered his cigar and finished off the last of his drink before getting up. The rest of the crew looked at him and watched as he straightened his suitjacket and adjusted his bow tie.

“Everyone get your stuff,” He announced, “It’s go-time.”

Ray turned around and got up, stretching his arms high above his head before taking a heavy hit of his joint. Michael and Gavin clinked their glasses together before downing it in one go. Jack and Ryan did the same. The four men followed their leader to Church and grabbed their go-bags before heading out to their cars. If Geoff said it was go-time, then it really was go-time.

* * *

Seeing a grown man with a bushy beard and long greasy hair was more of what they expected when they heard the word ‘hacker’. And seeing Matt for the first time did just that. Seeing him was certainly less surprising than a scrawny impulsive 13-year-old. Gavin and the others sized the man up and down as he set up a random blueprint of a house, and a map of Los Santos in Lester’s office. He placed a red pin right on a specific point in the Rockford Hills area, and then circled around it with black marker. He then got out two identical looking duffel bags along with a strange black box of some sort. It had a bunch of wires sticking out on the end. As soon as he finished setting up, he looked back at the five men and swiped some hair out of his face.

“Alright,” He cleared his throat with a cough. “So, I found where your money is located. This next part requires a little…legwork.”

He pointed at the red pin on the map.

“After digging through real estate records, I found two houses purchased by someone at minimum age this year,” He announced, “The first house belonged to some TV star’s kid, only child. The second is a lot more interesting.”

“They have a bunch of kids?” Geoff asked.

Matt gave him a nod. “Tons, all varying ages holed up in this Spanish style mansion.”

“Called it,” Ray muttered.

“Now Lester’s informed me that the devices in the house are protected,” He went on, “I tested things myself. This Radical Elliott dude set them up good. We’re gonna have to go in manually and attack from the inside.”

A ghost of a smirk stretched across Michael’s face. “You want us to break in and fuck shit up?”

“No no no no,” Matt said plainly, “Two of you are going in undercover. You’ll be posing as cable TV and internet techs.”

He opened one of the duffel bags and pulled out a long black wire. “One of you will be handling the desktop. You’ll install this cable which’ll sabotage the router.”

He set the wire back down and opened up the other bag. He pulled out a small black box.

“The other will be going downstairs and installing this modem, which’ll give me access to their network and be able to work from the inside.”

Geoff and the others gave a firm nod as he zipped the bag back up and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“From there, I’ll go in and get your money back.”

Ryan raised a hand and signaled towards the outside of the office. “Uh, guys? Sidebar.”

  
“Okay so _we all_ know that Radical Elliott lives inside that house,” The blonde muttered as they huddled up into a tight circle outside, “But what _Matt_ doesn’t know yet is that if the kid sees us, this plan is shot to shit.”

“So we get her out of the house then,” Michael reasoned.

“How’re we gonna do that?” Gavin asked. The five of them went silent in thought. Then, Michael perked up.

“Ray,” He gave a solid nod in Ray’s direction, “She still likes you, right?”

* * *

“CARLOS!!” Tamil screamed from the hallway upstairs, “Roscoe stole Neera’s turn!!”

Roscoe screamed from the bathroom just as loud. “I did not, you fibber, I’m up next!!”

“Roscoe you got 3 minutes, buddy!” Carlos yelled. The 19 year old shook his head with a sigh and continued on with his work. He hurried around the kitchen like his life depended on it, gathering up all the dirty dishes and trash that the kids left behind at breakfast. Thankfully Liyah and Milo were there to help with the cleanup, but a serious talk about chores was in store for the younger ones. As Carlos placed a stack of plates in the sink, he winced at the sound of a thud followed by a crash coming from upstairs.

“GUYS! CUT IT OUT!” Liyah warned, her sharp voice making the two teen boys jump.

“Tamil and Neera broke the door!”

“You held it shut Roscoe!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Ugh, I’m not dealing with this,” Liyah walked over to the chore board and marked off her name before grabbing the keys off the hook. “Milo! School time! Let’s bounce!”

“Wait I need a ride!” Carlos yelped. He tossed the sponge back in the sink and hurried to grab his backpack and math book. The three of them rushed over to the front door and opened it up, nearly knocking into two bodies in the process. Carlos accidentally bumped into the stocky guy with a beard and stumbled back.

“Whoa!” The bearded guy let out.

Carlos immediately tensed up and held his hands out, “Oh shit—s-sorry dude!”

The guy next to him (tall, with dirty blonde hair tied back) held a hand out and smirked. “Slow your roll there, roadrunner.”

The dark-haired teen let out a nervous chuckle and straightened himself up. Liyah narrowed her eyes at the strangers and sized them up for a second. Two guys wearing dark coveralls with an Internet/TV logo patched on. They had their bags of equipment at hand, and their white van was parked right outside the gate.

“Can we help you guys?” She asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.

The one with the beard smiled at her and looked down at his clipboard.

“Yeah, uh, we got a call from an…Ellie Wester?” He looked back up and pointed at the house. “This the Wester residence?”

She gave a small nod. “It is. Everything okay?”

His blonde haired partner spoke up. “Yeah, we’re here to upgrade your Wi-Fi and increase your connection speed.”

Milo let out an audible sigh of relief. “Oh thank _God_ ,”

“Milo,” She hissed through her teeth.

“What?!” He held his hands up in defense, “I can barely get through a show on Netflix without it lagging. Everyone’s playing X-Box all at once!”

“Okay whatever—We’re gonna be late,” Liyah gave a dismissive wave before brushing past, “Go on in, guys.”

Carlos turned back and yelled into the house. “Repair guys are here! Weapons are in my closet if they end being robbers!”

Ryan and Jack carefully brushed past Carlos and Milo as they started booking it down the steps. Before Jack could even ask where the computer was, the three teens were already piling into a navy blue sports car and peeling out of the driveway. Ryan eyed it the whole time. No doubt that thing was bought with _his_ money.

Jack gave the man a gentle nudge before the two of them entered the lavish slumdweller abode. Their sneakers squeaked against the sleek marble tile flooring as they turned around every which way. Despite being a house occupied entirely by teens and kids, the place was nicely decorated. The walls were painted warm colors and tons of group photos were hung up everywhere. Potted plants rested on desks painted rich colorful patterns. Framed certificates and home-made crafts were hung everywhere, including the stairwell and the hallway leading to the kitchen. So far the whole place was looking like a bohemian artists dream.

Or a minimalist's nightmare.

“Guys, if I find another cookie in the DVD player someone’s hand is gonna go on the blender!” A girl wearing dirty overalls and an old Mountie’s hat too big for her suddenly came rushing down the stairs. She stopped in front of Ryan and Jack and let out a heavy sigh. She looked exhausted, but that didn’t stop her from smiling at them and waving. “Hi. Sorry about that. Name’s Amanda. Babysitter. You the cable guys?”

“Internet and TV,” Ryan corrected, “Can you show us where the router’s at?”

The girl nodded rapidly. “Yeah yeah! Right this way.”

She waved a hand over and started making her way into the lounge room. While Jack followed closely behind her, asking all sorts of questions about the neighborhood and how long they’ve been here, Ryan quietly slipped away towards the basement to install the modem.

* * *

Geoff, Michael, and Gavin watched from inside the van as Ryan’s GoPro camera bobbed up and down. He’d studied the house’s blueprints carefully, and he was making his way through the house with relative ease so far. He stopped every now and then as a few kids scurried past screaming their heads off. He continued walking before stopping again, this time a pair of dogs roughhousing over a pool float blocking his way. A little boy in only his pajama bottoms came running up and tried to stop them.

“Kevin! Scooter! No! That’s not a chew toy!!” The boy yelped and dove for the float, trying to yank it from the two and failing horribly. Ryan carefully slunk past before jumping at the sound of a loud crash. A basketball covered in stickers came tumbling through and knocked the trash can over.

Michael chuckled at the footage and shook his head. “Jesus, that house is a fucking shit-show.”

“You’re doing great, Ryan,” Geoff chirped over the headset. He then looked over at Matt. The man had his hood up with a clunky pair of red headphones over where his ears would be. The man was busy typing away on his laptop, his fingers working at a steady pace across the keyboard. His screen was flooding up with numbers and letters, along with the occasional popup of some japanese manga he’d been reading the whole ride here. The man sniffled and frowned as he typed.

“Huh,”

“Huh what?” Gavin asked, leaning over to get a peek at what Matt was doing. Before Geoff could tell the brit to leave the guy be, he got a text on his phone.

 **Elliott’s on her way back.  
** **Got a call from one of the kids inside.**

“Fuck,” The leader sighed and pressed a finger on his headset, “Guys, the kid’s on her way back. Gimme some good news.”

“ _Modem’s in place,”_ Ryan answered.

“ _I got the wire in. Heading out now_. _”_ Jack replied.

“Good. Now haul ass,” Geoff ripped out his earpiece and tossed it aside. He pushed his chair over to Matt’s side and watched as the man worked. “What’s the problem here?”

“No problem,” He said simply, “It’s just that this person’s system is compeletly Linux-based. Open-Sourced programming.”

Geoff furrowed at him and shrugged. “So?”

A ghost of a smirk appeared on Matt’s face as he worked. “So whosever laptop I’m breaking into is good. Really good.”

“Cool, so can you get the money?” Michael asked.

“Of course,” The hacker sighed, his eyes roaming over the code to find what he was looking for, “I can plant a rather simple yet sophisticated backdoor. Inside the two lines of code to  _check_  root access permissions of a caller to the sys_wait4 function, I can use assignment = instead of equality checking ==.”

When he didn’t hear any additional comments or complaints, he sighed and decided to translate. He didn’t have to be looking at them to know that they were confused.

“I’ll use one equal sign instead of the usual two. That will grant me permission to the system,” He entered the code and watched with a satisfied smile as the doors of code opened up, “From there, I can perform a DoS attack.”

Michael frowned a little and tried to determine what that meant. “D…O…”

“Denial of Service,” Gavin answered. The brit leaned in and watched the master hacker work in his element. His fingers worked at a relatively fast pace, taking only a few seconds to pause every now and then to look it over before continuing. Michael only shook his head and sighed before slinking over to the front seat. He looked out towards the house and watched as random kids came in and out and ran around the yard. He couldn’t lie, the place really was nice. Compared to the shithole they lived in not too long ago, anyway. They got to have a yard to play in instead of a field of dead grass and broken concrete. They got to have actual toys instead of makeshift bits of garbage and old stuffed animals full of dead bugs. The brats did seem happier here…

The van door suddenly flew open and he immediately snapped himself out of his thoughts. He gave his head a firm shake and pushed back whatever sentimental thought was coming next. No. No no no. _Fuck_ no. He quickly turned around in his seat and watched as Ryan and Jack tossed their bags inside. Right as they got in and slid the door shut, a brown colored sports car pulled up and into the driveway. Michael lowered himself in his seat a little and watched as a man in a purple hoodie got out on the driver’s side. Ray didn’t glance at the van once. Instead he went over to the passenger’s side and opened it up. Elliott slid out with ease and gave him a bright grin. She mouthed something that looked like “Thank you.” Michael only rolled his eyes. Good guy Ray. Even to the person who screwed his friends over.

He watched as the two of them shared a solid fist bump followed by a finger gun before waving goodbye. The redhead couldn’t help but crack a smirk at the sight of her scurrying along in her crazy colored tights and checkerboard dress. Here she was sitting on 50 million and she still dressed like a hungover troll doll. As soon as she entered the house, Ray turned to look over at the van. He gave Michael a small salute before getting back in his car and peeling out of the driveway. Michael turned around and looked back over at Matt and the others. Geoff was leaning in close to Matt’s personal bubble. The blonde and brown-haired man didn’t seem to care. He was too focused on his laptop and what was going on to notice.

“Okay, so where are we on this?” Geoff asked, “Are we in?”

Matt tore his eyes away for a second to roll them and sigh.

“We’re logged on, yes,” He finally took his hands off the keyboard to stretch a little. Geoff and the others watched his laptop closely. Icons were being clicked and windows started popping up without him. “Sucks for whoever’s on right now,” He mused, “This next part is gonna get ugly.”

Something is wrong. Elliott gave a hard frown as she tried typing in Google Chrome’s search bar. She was hitting keys, but the letters were taking ages to catch up. Something is wrong. Egg was acting slower than usual. Much slower. It never took this long to load webpages. It never took this long to load anything. Surfing the web on her phone was working just fine. Same speed as always. So why was Egg acting to slow?

“What is going on?” She mumbled, more to herself more than to her laptop. Curious to see what was up and running in the background, she began typing the shortcut access the Task Manager.

Suddenly, she got a popup.

She frowned and scrunched her nose at the sight of it. There in the corner of her screen, a simple yet random ad for the Maze Bank.

Okay, something was definitely wrong.

Cautiously, she tried to terminate it with code. Pulling up a terminal window, she typed to the best of her laptop’s ability. It took much longer than she would of liked, but she managed to type it out and hit enter.

Her hands immediately left the keyboard as her screen suddenly turned off. She let out a yelp as her laptop let out a loud beep before turning back on again. Floods of code started filling up the terminal window and the young teen was at a loss for words.

“Wha—” She let out a panicked noise and started typing as fast as she could. She pulled up a second window and got right to work, pushing past the shock and awe and sheer panic that sent the alarms blaring in her head. Egg was compromised. Her best friend, her life’s work was in danger. She had to find whatever—no— _whovever_ was doing this and kick their ass.  

Traffic was flooding in from every direction. It was hard, but her fingers stayed latched to the keyboard as she typed. Her eyes roamed every which way as she tried to find the foreign IP. Fakes. Fakes from all over. London. Moscow. Tehran. New York. Hundreds of thousands of places!

Her stomach twisted into knots. She couldn’t believe it.

A freaking Spoofer!

Contingency plan. She swallowed the lump in her throat and hurried to remove all the cables to Egg. She watched with stinging eyes and a burning nose as Several pop ups flooded her entire screen before a single message appeared over them all.

Before Elliott could even react, her screen started blink in and out. She tried tapping on the keyboard, but it was no luck. She could only sit there and watch with a slacked jaw as pools of source code ran across before her poor laptop shut off altogether.

The 13 year old was at a loss for words.

She just stared at the black screen, blinking, trying to process what on earth had just happened.

It was only when she got a text alert on her phone that she barely came back. She slowly picked it up and looked at the screen, trying hard to push past the numb and the shock so she could read.

It was from the bank.

The 50 million was gone.

She let her phone slip from her hand and heard it fall to the floor with a thud. She was broke.

She was broke and on the worst end of a vicious cyber-attack.

She turned and looked back at Egg. Poor little Egg. All of her hard work trying to build walls of code and impenetrable security measures. All of it came crashing down within seconds by some random she hadn’t even heard of. The very thought of some smug little nerd on the other end of the screen laughing at her made her stomach twist. Her eyes started to sting with tears at the thought of Egg’s damaged systems and wiped memory. The thought of her beloved Laptop never working again caused her face to scrunch and the tears to stream down her little face. Whimpering and sniffling, she reached forward and tried turning Egg back on.

“Please,” She whispered quietly to herself, “Please, please…”

The laptop started back up with ease, but instead of being greeted with her usual cheery startup screen, she was met with a blank terminal window.

She tapped a command and hit enter. 

>                 pr_err("Failed to execute %s.  Attempting defaults... **\n** ",
> 
>                         execute_command);
> 
>         }
> 
>         **if** (!run_init_process("/sbin/init") ||
> 
>             !run_init_process("/etc/init") ||
> 
>             !run_init_process("/bin/init") ||
> 
>             !run_init_process("/bin/sh"))
> 
>                 **return** 0;
> 
>         panic("No init found.  Try passing init= option to kernel. "
> 
>               "See Linux Documentation/init.txt for guidance.");
> 
> }

Another panic screen. She screwed her eyes shut and started crying as her laptop shut off for a second time.

“No,” She whimpered painfully, “No, no, no…”

She let out a hard sniffle, wiping her nose on her bare arm before trying a third time. A fourth time. A fifth. Nothing was working. No form of code or rescue disc could break her precious Egg out of whatever state Axial had put it in. That only made her cry harder. The tears and snot began pouring out as she whimpered and begged for Egg to work again. She would do anything, anything at all!

Her phone vibrated. Another text message. Probably the bank letting her know that someone had overdrawn in her account. She sniffled hard and reached over to pick it up. Tears continued to slip from her big brown eyes as she read over the text.

**We need to talk.**

**\- Geoff**

She read the message over a second time. A third. A fourth. Each time her grip on her phone grew tighter and tighter. It took a couple minutes for her to stop shaking in anger before she slammed the phone down and retreated to the downstairs.

* * *

“To being rich again!” Michael toasted, holding a shot of whiskey in the air, “Fuckin’ job well done, boys!”

“Hear! Hear!” The other five shouted, clinking their glasses together before downing it unison. Gavin knocked his back and let out a sharp hiss before signaling at the barkeep for another round. He looked over to his right. Matt was sitting at the bar as well, typing on his phone and slurping Dr. Pepper through a straw. The brunette scooted closer to him and tried starting up a small conversation. Michael and Ray were busy raving about what they were gonna do with their money. Jack and Ryan held a small conversation with each other about what went down today. Geoff watched them all from afar with a content smile on his face. Him and his boys, they got their money back. They restored order.

His phone vibrated a couple times in his pocket and he pulled it out to look. He took a modest sip of his whiskey and coke, smiling as he read the text from a blocked number.

**noon @ del perro pier.**

**bring the hacker with.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it weird that i'm excited to post the next chapter??? lmaoooo I'm so stoked for yall to see what Elliott does.  
> Oh and thank you guys for all your kind comments so far!!  
> If i could give you all celebratory rice krispie treats, i would. <3


End file.
